T-Mobile USA to launch Apple products in 2013, likely including the iPhone

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann just stated in an investors' day meeting that T-Mobile USA will be launching Apple products in 2013, and speculation is heavy that that will include the iPhone.

No details are available yet, but in order to get the iPhone successfully up and running on T-Mobile USA, Apple would have to add support for HSPA on the AWS spectrum, or T-Mobile will need to greatly increase their 3G support on the non-AWS spectrum, or both. T-Mobile has been deploying iPhone-friendly 3G in several markets this year, so it could well be the latter.

And that's just 3G. They still haven't even left the gate when it comes to LTE. T-Mo's merger with MetroPCS could give them the resources they need to begin building out LTE, but Verizon, AT&T, and even Sprint certainly aren't going to make catching up easy.

So, there's a lot of work ahead. But hey, after 5 years and pretty much every other carrier, it's a start, right?

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.