Connect with us

Apple

U.S. Cellular iPhone In Testing, Unlimited Data Rumored

Published

on

The U.S. Cellular iPhone is in testing by U.S. Cellular staff who are  getting familiar with the device before the regional carrier starts selling the iPhone later this year.

In May, U.S. Cellular announced that it would carry the iPhones later this year, specifically telling Gotta Be Mobile that the announcement was for “iPhone products.”

When Apple announced the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c there was no mention of a new carrier and as the iPhone 5s release date approaches there is no mention of purchasing a U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s on Apple’s website.

Read: iPhone 5S Release News You Don’t Want To Hear

A tip reveals U.S. Cellular is testing the iPhone right now.

A tip reveals U.S. Cellular is testing the iPhone right now.

This is not surprising as Apple is likely forcing U.S. Cellular to hold off on an announcement until after the iPhone 5s release date. It may also be in part due to rumored iPhone 5s production issues which could limit the number of iPhone 5s units Apple has on hand in September.

While Apple didn’t announce the U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s last week, U.S. Cellular sent a reminder to Gotta Be Mobile writing,

“… as previously announced, U.S. Cellular will soon be carrying iPhone products. We are looking forward to iPhone fans coming to the high-quality U.S. Cellular network and experiencing our industry-leading rewards program.”

This morning a Gotta Be Mobile reader shared a conversation he had with an individual in charge of marketing at a U.S. Cellular store in Greenville, North Carolina. When asked about the U.S. Cellular iPhone the employee told him,

“we currently have the technology on our hands, so our staff can get a feel for the device before further sales.”

While the employee did not mention any of the new iPhone models by name, U.S. Cellular’s comments about carrying multiple iPhone products leads us to believe we will soon see a U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 4s. Apple typically adds the back catalog of phones to new carriers when it delivers support, as we saw with T-Mobile and Sprint.

The same employee told the tipster that U.S. Cellular may offer a 4G LTE Unlimited data plans and may also offer shared data plans. Sprint is the only major U.S. carrier still offering true unlimited data plans, so this could be an interesting move. Most major carriers now offer shared data plans, which allow multiple lines to use the same data plan, instead of selling one plan per line.

Read: iPhone 5s Carrier Comparison

This is the first tip from this individual, but the timing would make sense. When Apple added Cricket as an iPhone carrier in 2012, the company did not start sales until a week after the major players.

17 Comments

17 Comments

  1. Shawn

    09/15/2013 at 7:02 pm

    A US Cellular CSR confirmed with me on the 10th that by time they have the iphone that they will have shared data plans. He even gave me the pricing for them.

    • kim

      09/18/2013 at 8:43 pm

      What was the pricing info if you dont mind sharing?

  2. mobilepricebd

    09/16/2013 at 3:39 am

    yes boos, i alreay know this news.i say thank you again.

  3. Alva johnson

    09/16/2013 at 7:48 am

    My Uncle Carter got an awesome year old Hyundai Genesis Sedan a knockout post PORT60.COM

  4. Cyril Momah

    09/16/2013 at 9:35 am

    setting up both fingers makes more sense anyway and with these features too Anti-Glare, Anti-Scratch, Anti-Fingerprint – Matte Finishing Screen Protector goo.gl/8ntC1S i hope i don’t spend my money buying just phone

  5. Tim Turner (Keep It Kumin Kid)

    09/16/2013 at 11:08 am

    When you call us cell customer service they tell you the iPhone 5s will be available the second week In dec.

  6. cvdiymatt

    09/16/2013 at 2:20 pm

    I have a feeling this will be out before the second week in dec. US Cell would be losing a lot of prime time Christmas shopping if they did, also I don’t know why they would have the devices in their employees hands now if they weren’t going to sell until the 2nd week in dec. Usually if you have the hardware in the hands, it’s a week or two away. (used to work at a US Cell authorized agent store)

  7. Jojo11

    09/16/2013 at 5:02 pm

    I was thinking the same thing

  8. Lindsey

    09/19/2013 at 4:14 pm

    Why would they wait till the second week of December if it’s in the employees hands?

  9. BUd

    09/19/2013 at 10:02 pm

    I was told yesterday by US Cell agent that they will have in my local store in rural iowa Oct. 1st.

  10. Candy

    09/23/2013 at 5:34 pm

    I’m on an unlimited 4g data plan with us cellular now

  11. Jim

    09/25/2013 at 7:51 pm

    Shared data pricing is as follows: you pay a per device monthly fee, $40 smartphones, $30 basic(feature) phones, $20 for hotspot/modem. Phones all get unlimited minutes& messaging. Then pay for a blanket of shared data starting at$50/month for 1gb ,$60 for 2gb,$70 for 4gb…..all the way up to 100./ for several hundred dollars. I’ve got the document on my desk on pricing, and I work for uscc if that helps verify my claims.

    In addition, the shared data plans are scheduled for October 6th offering.

    • Diana

      10/12/2013 at 11:59 am

      If you are already a customer with a data plan do you get to keep your plan?

  12. [email protected]

    10/02/2013 at 3:43 pm

    Time is wasting and Ï am sick of waiting for US Cellular to release details of when the hell they are releasing the iphone. What is their issues? If they can’t release the information at lease tell their customers why??? so If it’s apple that won’t let them talk when say it’s apple. It’s so sickening…. They are possible hushed by apple, but don’t care about their customers???? All we want to know is why and when do they think they will have the iphone? We customers have a right to know some answers. It’s just rude!

  13. SM

    10/02/2013 at 7:39 pm

    Was told that after this next wave of other carriers announce the phone, that they will be selling them within 1 month. (November-ish).

  14. stephanie

    10/12/2013 at 9:52 pm

    US cellular will have the 5s by the end of October. I just spoke to an associate at a store earlier today. He even said he’d call me when it’s out.

  15. Jason

    10/16/2013 at 10:14 pm

    I think that US Cellular is waiting for Apple’s announcement on 10/22/13 of the new iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 or iPad mini S. I’m thinking it will be the latter, iPad mini S with the Touch ID and Retina display! Mostly likely, US Cellular will start pre-order for the new iPads and iPhones that will be made available on 11/1/13. We’ll see if I’m right!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.