T-Mobile USA has entered into an agreement with Apple, to sell Apple products like the iPhone and iPad in their U.S. stores by 2013. Apple has also confirmed the announcement, but there were no further details regarding device availability or if they will be able to access HSPA+ speeds.Up until now T-Mobile users have not had accessed to subsidized Apple products and have had to rely on unlocked devices which are generally quite expensive. Even then since Apple doesn’t support the T-Mobile 3G speeds, devices are limited to slow 2G data speeds.
The announcement was made by Deutsche Telekom Chairman Rene Obermann, who had the following to say:
The announcement of the agreement with Apple was also part of a larger released about the investment strategy of the company:
In the coming year, T-Mobile USA will continue to reinforce its market presence with additions to its rate plan and product portfolio, including Apple products. “Following on from the preceding steps such as the spectrum swap with Verizon, the towers deal with Crown Castle and the transaction with MetroPCS that we have announced, we have now added the final piece to the jigsaw to boost the competitiveness of T-Mobile USA sustainably,
T-Mobile USA has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together in 2013.One of the current issues with running an Apple product on T-Mobile’s network is the inability to run the device on 3G or 4G speeds. T-Mobile is continuing its roll out the 1900Mhz HSPA+ spectrum and its LTE network. But we will have to wait and see if the upcoming Apple products will support the existing standards or if the agreement is based on T-Mobile readying its network to support Apple products.
source – Deutsche Telekom | The Loop | Engadget