U.S. Regional Carriers Gearing Up to Begin Offering Cellular-Capable iPad Air [Updated]
With the first round of launches for the iPad Air scheduled for next Friday, November 1, Apple will be expanding its carrier partnerships in the U.S. for sales of cellular-capable models to include T-Mobile for the first time. The expansion will, however, go even further, as several smaller carriers have announced today that they will begin selling Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the iPad Air "in the coming weeks".
Mississippi-based C Spire, which became the first regional carrier to offer the iPhone in late 2011, is one of the carriers announcing iPad Air availability in the near future.
C Spire today announced that iPad Air with Wi-Fi + Cellular will be available on its 4G LTE network in the coming weeks.
C Spire will offer iPad Air with a range of attractive data plans that will allow customers to connect to its fast 4G LTE mobile broadband network with speeds up to 10 times faster than previously available.
Kentucky-based Bluegrass Cellular has also sent out a press release announcing availability "in the coming weeks".
We have yet to see word from any other regional carriers about iPad Air availability, but we will update this post if more carriers do confirm plans to offer the device.
It seems likely that those carriers preparing to offer the iPad Air will also offer the iPad mini with Retina display, but Apple has yet to announce an exact date for the first wave of launches of that device. It is also possible that smaller carriers may see somewhat longer delays before they can offer the iPad mini, as supplies of the device are expected to be extremely tight into 2014.
Update: Alaskan carrier GCI has also announced plans to begin offering the iPad Air, as has U.S. Cellular. According to an email sent out today, U.S. Cellular, the fifth-largest carrier in the United States, will begin offering the iPad Air on November 8, the first concrete date release provided by a regional carrier.
Popular Stories
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how functions. As noted by The Washington Post,...
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen two more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 26 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released in December. 1. Help You...
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Cyber Week has taken the place of Black Friday, and you'll find some of the same deals still around for the next few days, although many from Black Friday have now expired. This includes dozens of record low prices on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iPhone, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
Black Friday 2023 has officially ended, but we're still tracking some of the best deals of the year on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, and many more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically, in this article we're...
Top Rated Comments
It's pretty easy to pick up a small dongle or some type of accessory from a carrier of your choice to connect a laptop over cellular though.
Then they wouldn't sell many iPads, because a MacBook Air is better than a iPad in every way while it's just a little less portable.
Been considered, and rejected. Too much convergence maybe? There's always tethering if you need the bigger screen of a laptop.
Because MiFi's are so much easier. Even the iPad makes a great MiFi.. Why add to the MBA's bulk and loose battery life? ack.. The MBA is ment to be a productivity powerhouse that is light and runs forever..:p
Might as well as ask why they don't include a CD/DVD rom, VGA or Ethernet port. :rolleyes:
Considering your username, it would be weird for you not to have an iPad Air. You should get it for that reason alone.