Four More Small U.S. Carriers Launching iPhone on May 18 with $50 Discounts

iphone 4s boxLast month saw six small U.S. carriers begin offering the iPhone for the first time, and it appears that another round of expansion to similar carriers is coming on May 18. Four new iPhone carriers, all operating CDMA networks, have rolled out their announcements so far today:

- Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky)
- Golden State Cellular (California)
- Nex-Tech Wireless (Kansas)
- Pioneer Cellular (Oklahoma)

As with other regional carriers, the new entrants will be offering the iPhone at $50 below the standard pricing available through Apple and the major carriers. Under the discounted pricing, the iPhone 4S will be priced at $149/$249/$349 and the iPhone 4 will be available for $49.

Given the small nature of the carriers announcing their iPhone launches, publicity is somewhat unorganized and we're asking readers to let us know if they spot word of any others involved in this round of launches.

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Top Rated Comments

Shanpdx Avatar
172 months ago
Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

unlike original release, iPhone is not that unique or percentage of smartphone users.

What is the issue bringing the technology to all?

I would like to see more Unlocked iPhones with much better price point may be $450 to $500???
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sha4000 Avatar
172 months ago
Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

More money for Apple. Is there something wrong with that? Plus it's an easy way to close the gap with Android phones right???
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Boisv Avatar
172 months ago
I hope this trend continues.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
croooow Avatar
172 months ago
Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.
What a shame that Apple is getting their products out to more people? Didn't Steve talk about what a good market there would be in mobile phones (I remember him comparing it to the game console market, this is before the app store and all those iOS games, when the iPhone was mostly a phone) when he introduced the original iPhone?

Elitist attitudes like that are what give Apple users a bad name. Apple should not be trying to limit who buys their products, they should work on making the best products.

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- Bluegrass Cellular (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bluegrass-cellular-to-offer-iphone-4s-on-may-18-150592585.html) (Kentucky)
- Golden State Cellular (http://thepinetree.net/index.php?module=announce&ANN_user_op=view&ANN_id=30233) (California)
- Nex-Tech Wireless (https://www.facebook.com/notes/nex-tech-wireless/nex-tech-wireless-to-offer-iphone-4s-on-may-18/10150785758458015) (Kansas)
So do iPhones on these small carriers say "Bluegrass," "Golden State," etc instead of "Verizon"/"AT&T"/"Sprint" or do they have a more generic carrier signal listing like some of the iPhone promo shots (that will say "3G" with no company listed as carrier)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Konrad9 Avatar
172 months ago
he has handling it better man.

Hope to see more good steps from him ...

What does Tim Cook have to do with this story?

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Now that Steve Jobs is gone it seems like Apple is willing to send the iPhone to any and every carrier. What a shame, should have stuck with the best.

Lack of competition hurts only one group, us, the consumer.

Your absurdly closed-minded attitude is disturbing.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unlimitedx Avatar
172 months ago
I'm suprised US Cellular hasn't added it yet.

They declined the chance due to apple's terms
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)