iPhone owners looking for alternatives to the big cell carriers in the U.S. have several more choices as of Friday. nTelos, Alaska Communications, Appalachian Wireless, GCI, Matanuska Telephone Association and Cellcom are all launching iPhone service today, and they’re selling Apple’s combination iPod and smartphone at a lower price than the big carriers.
Regional cell carriers add iPhone support
nTelos offers sell coverage in Virginia and West Virginia, and parts of Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, and Ohio. Appalachian Wireless cell service is available in eastern Kentucky. Both support the CDMA-based iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, just like Verizon and Sprint.
Alaska Communications, GCI, and Matanusak Telephone Association (MTA) all offer coverage in various parts of Alaska. Cellcom’s coverage area includes Wisconsin and Michigan.
All of today’s new carriers will sell the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S for US$50 less than AT&T, Verizon and Sprint with a two-year contract.
Apple originally launched the iPhone exclusively on AT&T’s network as part of a multi-year deal. Later, Verizon came on board and Sprint after that. The company then started adding regional carriers such as C Spire.
Despite the iPhone’s expansion to additional carriers, T-Mobile is still on the outside. Since the iPhone currently doesn’t support some of the carrier’s wireless data radio frequencies, it’s likely T-Mobile will be left out unless Apple adds support in a future iPhone model.
[Updated to include Cellcom. Thanks for the heads up, Phil!]