Kaufman Bros hears leaks of new carrier

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu today backed increasing talk of a second iPhone carrier in the US through industry sources. They echo earlier rumors and have the second carrier ready as soon as this fall or else in early 2011. The tipsters claim Apple is now keen to add carriers primarily to undermine Android; as Google's OS has grown mostly where Apple wasn't, iPhones on those networks could stunt Android's progress.

Wu acknowledged the rapidly increasing belief that the iPhone would reach Verizon, but he insisted that T-Mobile was more likely. Apple already supports one of the two necessary 3G frequencies, the 2,100MHz band, and wouldn't need a complete architecture change as a result. Sources allegedly aware of T-Mobile's opinions said it wants the iPhone as a way of stemming its ongoing lost customers, making it more likely to accept Apple's terms verbatim where Verizon might still try to argue.

Such a jump would nonetheless contradict multiple detailed rumors of a CDMA iPhone nearing production and also doesn't fully address T-Mobile's needs. Without the 1,700MHz band, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS alike would risk losing 3G in those areas that don't necessarily have 2,100MHz support. At 34 million customers, T-Mobile is also the smallest of the major national carriers where Verizon has roughly 93 million, providing Apple with a much larger target. Verizon has largely taken over from T-Mobile as the premier Android carrier in the US and would be a more significant target in the US, as would Sprint's 47 million subscribers that could similarly be addressed by a CDMA iPhone.

Regardless of the carrier pick, Apple is predicted to benefit significantly from any second US carrier, as its total addressable market could jump at least 40 percent higher from AT&T alone to as much as 107 percent if it gets Verizon.

By Electronista Staff