Speaking at the UBS 39th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference, TDS (parent to US Cellular) CEO Ted Carlson said:
“We’re never going to say never about the iPhone. The iPhone for us would need to be at the cutting edge of where we’re going, and then there might be an opportunity to consider it.” U.S. Cellular revealed last month that it had the opportunity to sell the current, non-LTE iteration of the iPhone but decided against it because it was not the right economic fit for the regional carrier.
In context, US Cellular is in a drive to migrate its 26-state customer base to LTE. Previously, it was revealed that the terms of the agreement for the iPhone were reportedly “unacceptable”.
The Chicago, Illinois-headquartered company is the nation’s sixth-largest wireless carrier, serving about 6.1 million customers in half the country’s states. Competitor C-spire, another regional carrier, was able to get the iPhone and is currently selling it.
