AT&T Denies Rumor of Company-Wide Vacation Blackout at End of September

att logoYesterday, TechCrunch reported that AT&T had issued a vacation blackout for September 21-30 ahead of an "iconic release", coinciding exactly with a similar blackout at Verizon.

9to5Mac now reports that AT&T has specifically denied that a company-wide blackout is in effect for that time period. Anecdotal reports from store staff do, however, suggest that the carrier may be increasing its staffing levels around that time.

This morning, an AT&T spokesperson told us that there is no company-wide vacation blackout at the end of September.

We’ve also talked to AT&T reps at other stores who’ve implied that, depending on staffing levels of that particular store, more people are being put on duty – but there is no “blackout”. In fact one New York employee will be sitting out the first week of the iPhone launch on a long planned vacation.

Numerous sources have indicated that Apple will be introducing the next-generation iPhone at a media event on September 12, but the actual launch date for the device has been somewhat less certain. Several sources have pointed to September 21 as the launch date for the first group of markets, a timeframe that does fit with Apple's typical pattern seen in previous launches.

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Top Rated Comments

Hakone Avatar
168 months ago
"We didn't black out our employee's vacation, we just highly discouraged their absence for a few days..."
:D
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iRCL Avatar
168 months ago
Wow stop the presses, one employee in new york will be on vacation
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nfl46 Avatar
168 months ago
Wow, it feels weird knowing we will all have the iPhone 5 in our hands in around THREE weeks. Time is moving very quick!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
168 months ago
Even if AT&T is allowing grandfathered unlimited data plans for this launch, you can bet that they WILL find a way to discontinue them at anytime they please.

This IS AT&T we're talking about here!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
profets Avatar
168 months ago
Funny, every year there's the same story of vacation blackout but this year with stronger rumors than ever of sep launch they decide to deny it?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
168 months ago
Maybe this means Apple isn't offering them the new iPhone until they shape up their stupid customer service policies. :rolleyes:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)