AT&T to expand iPhone Exclusivity?

iPhone 3G is the hottest gadgets around, and with the release of iPhone 3.0 only a couple of months away, many are gearing up to upgrade or get their first iPhone. So it’s not surprising to hear AT&T being interested in expanding its exclusivity deal with Apple. AT&T hit the jackpot when it worked out its agreement with Apple. Sure. It had to share a portion of its revenue with Apple, and now has to provide subsidized iPhones as a part of its agreement with Apple. Nevertheless, AT&T has had a lot of success with iPhone 3G, and that is why it plans to extend its contract with Apple. But will Apple go for it?

While there are no indications that Apple will not go ahead with a contract extension with AT&T, it is interesting to see how Apple plays its cards. A couple of years ago Apple had to prove itself with the iPhone. But things have changed in the past few years. The iPhone has literally become a runaway train, and I am sure Apple won’t find it tough to find a new carrier if it decides to ditch AT&T. I do like to see Apple bring the iPhone to other carriers in some form. You can always unlock the phone and use it on other networks, but wouldn’t be nice if you could get the subsidized version from, let’s say, T-Mobile?

Unfortunately, I doubt AT&T would go for anything but an exclusive deal with Apple. It doesn’t seem Apple will be pursuing a deal with other companies at this point. Maybe Apple is courting other wireless companies to subsidize its highly anticipated Mac netbook. It would have been nice to have the option to choose your own carrier when buying a subsidized iPhone, but I guess we will have to wait for that for at least a couple of years.

Your take: should Apple extend its deal with AT&T?