T-Mobile iPhone 5 May Arrive Early Next Year

T-Mobile has long been able to offer support for the iPhone on its network, but the carrier simply never sold the device in any of its stores. That might change, though, come early 2013. Morgan Stanley analyst Nick Delfas says that T-Mobile could "announce official iPhone distribution in early 2013."

As it stands, T-Mobile is the only major US carrier that doesn't sell the iPhone to its customers, but that could easily change. T-Mobile has been working on improving its network across the country. The carrier is currently working on a $4 billion project to beef up its 4G LTE network, and it launched unlimited 4G data plans last month.

This undertaking could be happening to make room for the iPhone 5, which features 4G LTE capabilities for the first time. T-Mobile also announced a couple weeks ago that it's planning to merge with MetroPCS, which has been working hard to improve its own 4G LTE network. The merger will help T-Mobile increase its LTE reach across the country.

The analyst didn't provide anymore details other than that the deal could help sell another one or two million iPhone 5 devices in the first quarter, which would be even more of a win for Apple, since its device would be reaching even more customers. Apple sold around 5 million iPhone 5s during opening weekend alone.

[via CNET]