14 DAY TRIAL // Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless operator T-Mobile has announced reservations for Apple’s as-of-yet unreleased iPhone 5. The carrier is issuing support tickets to those who are putting off their purchase of an iPhone 4, or iPhone 3GS, reports say.
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany.
As the largest company of its kind in Europe, Deutsche Telekom was formed in 1996 when the former state-owned monopoly Deutsche Bundespost was privatized.
The German government holds a 15% stake in company stock directly as of June 2008. Another 17% is owned through the government's bank, KfW.
Deutsche Telekom has various subsidiaries, including T-Mobile.
The coupons the carrier is now distributing will ensure customer eligibility for claiming Apple’s next-gen smartphone when it’s made physically available.
It will be done on a first-come-first-served basis. Clients must contact sales representatives in a brick-and-mortar store owned by Deutsche Telekom in order to reserve a ticket.
Alternately, they can call up customer support, according to reports.
Following such rumors, a Deutsche Telekom AG spokesperson talked to the press and confirmed their initiative.
Reportedly, the German wireless operator is expecting supply bottlenecks for the fifth-generation iPhone.
Spokesman Alexander von Schmettow also said they will give coupons to those who expressly request the successor the current-generation hardware (iPhone 4).
It is unclear whether Apple plans to launch a single new iPhone model this year, or two (including a cheaper one), as many analysts have speculated.
An iPhone 4S acting as an incremental upgrade of the current hardware is widely expected to arrive alongside the more beefed-up, fully fledged fifth-generation iPhone this fall.
Some, however, believe Apple only plans to launch an iPhone 4S, not an iPhone 5 as well.