14 DAY TRIAL // Currently available in the United States on the airwaves of AT&T and Verizon, the Apple iPhone might also emerge on the networks of Sprint and T-Mobile soon, at least this is what analysts tend to believe. Piper Jaffray analyst Chris Larsen is the last one to note that the arrival of Apple's iPhone via these carriers is something that we should be looking forward to.
Previously, Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek made a similar statement, suggesting that the availability of iPhone 4 in the United States via Verizon earlier this year signaled the upcoming release of this device through more of them.
What Larsen said recently was that the Cupertino-based company was certainly gearing up for the release of an iPhone that would include support for additional networks.
He reportedly noted that “the most noteworthy change could be the device's ability to run on more networks, specifically Sprint and T-Mobile in the U.S.”
However, if so, Apple would certainly make the handset available with support for more networks, and the previous rumors on the availability of an iPhone with world connectivity would soon pan out.
The availability of iPhone on more networks will also increase Apple's share of the US mobile market. According to Larsen, Apple's addressable market would grow by up to 30 percent.
Some of the older rumors on the next Apple iPhone suggested that it might include global connectivity capabilities, a rumor fueled by a statement coming from Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo a few months ago, which seemed to confirm just that.
This fall, Apple is expected to release a successor to its iPhone 4 handset, one that would run under iOS 5 and would offer HSPA+ support, rumor has it. Thus, the device would prove a great fit both for T-Mobile's network, as well as for AT&T's HSPA+ airwaves.
This device should be followed by the release of an iPhone 5 next year, which might also add support for 4G LTE networks into the mix. It remains to be seen whether both models would arrive with global connectivity or not.