Ntelos Holdings, Other Small Companies To Sell IPhone 4S For -- Wait For It -- $150

NEW YORK (AP) — A small Virginia-based cellphone company said Wednesday that it will start selling the iPhone, at prices that undercut the big carriers.

Ntelos Holdings Corp. will sell the basic model of the latest iPhone, the 4S, for $150 on April 20. That's $49 less than what AT&T, Verizon and Sprint charge. Versions with more storage sell for $250 and $350, also $49 cheaper than the rivals. A two-year contract is required, with monthly service fees of $80 or $100, comparable to fees charged by others.

Ntelos is based in Waynesboro and has about 421,000 subscribers in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky under the nTelos Wireless brand.

It's the fifth U.S. phone company to get the iPhone, after the big three and Mississippi-based regional carrier C Spire Wireless, which started selling it late last year.

Phone companies subsidize the iPhone, which costs about $600 wholesale. Selling it means shouldering a big upfront cost. Ntelos Chief Financial Officer Stebbins Chandor said the phone would start paying off in 2014.

A bigger regional phone company, U.S. Cellular, has said it turned down the iPhone because it was too expensive.

Ntelos CEO James Hyde said it needed the iPhone to fill a gap in its smartphone lineup and compete with other carriers. In the first quarter, the company lost about 5,000 subscribers from its contract-based plans, which are the most lucrative, while adding subscribers to cheaper prepaid services.

Ntelos shares fell 30 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $20.35 in midday trading.

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Comments

[Jason Shields]

10:09 AM on 04/05/2012

I have Ntelos and I'm EXTREMELY happy. They are by far the least expensive carrier in our area, but they also have great signal and a great customer service. Now we don't have to look at other carriers to get an iPhone.

[Samuel Bun]

09:04 AM on 04/05/2012

$50 or $100 dollar difference on the cost of the phone is not a measurable amount when you compare service and monthly cost. A free phone is of no use if it does not work. and $10 a month over 2 years will erase your savings. We need phones we can take to different carriers. I know, I know, the the technology is different, but I would pay full price for a phone for lower monthly cost and no contract. Like Europe?

[BillClay]

09:13 PM on 04/05/2012

Stop spamming!

[Aoli]

03:57 AM on 04/05/2012

I would prefer better data plans (cheaper, faster, more gigs) instead of a cheaper iPhone.

[ResearchtheFacts]

12:11 AM on 04/05/2012

As cheap and dated as they are with that 2008 OS, and with the sketchy reception they should be free..

[jflorish]

09:28 PM on 04/04/2012

You can actually get an iphone 3GS free now with a contract, thats a heck of a deal and still a really good phone.

[john setta]

08:03 PM on 04/04/2012

Ya I want an I phone 6 at $75 bucks that's sounds more like it.

[rekindaguy]

06:34 PM on 04/04/2012

I've been with US Cellular for 12 years. As soon as the iPhone 5 comes out, we're gone. If their management won't give their customers what they want, they can -and will- answer to their stockholders about the diminishing customer base. Short-sighted and very foolish.

[menschmaschine5]

09:56 PM on 04/04/2012

Not really - carrying the iPhone is expensive. Sprint said it would take them years to turn a profit when they started carrying it.

[JohnTheMac]

07:20 AM on 04/05/2012

"Sprint sold 1.8M iPhones in the quarter, 40% of which were to new customers and the balance to their existing base. That gave them a net increase of 1.6M subscribers, the best in 7 years. They had 161K net postpaid additions. After churning for years, the iPhone is helping Sprint post some decent growth at last."

http://www.telecomramblings.com/2012/02/sprints-iphone-sales-boost-fortunes-drag-earnings/

[sdavidweaver]

04:45 PM on 04/04/2012

I bought an iPhone4 just two months ago for $50 and it's just great for me. I don't care about the iPhone4s. I'll be waiting for the 5.

[Quai DOrsay]

05:11 PM on 04/04/2012

Here in Toronto, I got my iPhone 4 for free on a 2 year agreement ...I wouldn't care about the iPhone 4S ... I can't wait to see what the iPhone 5 looks like

[Lechiffre]

06:24 PM on 04/04/2012

your phone will still be working fine by the time the iphone 5 comes out. why do you need another phone for .

[sdavidweaver]

06:34 PM on 04/04/2012

I may well hold onto it for some time, but my point was I didn't think the iPhone4S for $150 was all that amazing a deal, despite the headline. This is my first smartphone, and I've kept each of my previous cell phones for about three years. You are correct that there is little need to replace one's cell phone more than every other year!

[CrimsonIdol]

04:27 PM on 04/04/2012

Same as Alaska, Alaska Communications, GCI and MTA (all Alaska companies) are also be going to selling iPhone for the same price on April 20 (pretty much an Alaskan holiday).

[Samuel Bun]

09:10 AM on 04/05/2012

That's too bad.

I mean that you're in Alaska.

[Highball]

04:12 PM on 04/04/2012

It's not really "out of left field" at all. It makes sense for regional carriers since they can make so much off of the contract. This is why the initial price of the phone is pretty irrelevant, when all is said and done.

A 2-year, $100/month contract means you will pay $2400. Does it matter whether the phone initially costs $99 or $149 or $199? In the end, you're spending a good deal of money.

[nishioka]

07:39 PM on 04/04/2012

Everyone's getting a discount as it is... the iPhone and phones like it retail in the neighborhood of $600 off-contract. Smaller/regional cellphone companies usually establish roaming agreements to achieve nationwide coverage, so it's not like they have to sink as much money into R&D or network maintenance or a nationwide support system (technicians, trucks, etc). Might as well pass the savings along.

[Barbarian At The Gate]

03:30 PM on 04/04/2012

The Apple iPhone is available via Ntelos because Ntelos uses the CDMA technology.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/04/04/apple_expands_iphone_to_regional_us_carrier_ntelos_wireless.html

Too bad for AT&T. They must have been ecstatic when they were the exclusive provider of the iPhone.

Ntelos is the 5th US carrier and 2nd Regional carrier to offer the iPhone.

[Highball]

04:15 PM on 04/04/2012

Nah. ATT couldn't care less. They made an absolute fortune during those two years. That's the length of the contract originally negotiated, anyways. They still make tons of money on iPhones.

And yeah, the iPhone will actually be available to more than nTelos:

"The iPhone 4S will become available to customers of five regional U.S. on April 20. It will be sold for $50 cheaper than its traditional subsidized price at other carriers, starting at $150 for the 16-gigabyte model, $250 for 32 gigabytes, and $350 for 64 gigabytes. The 8-gigabyte iPhone 4 will also be available for $50."

http://tinyurl.com/7xv2675 [AppleInsider]

[tsixonesix]

03:20 PM on 04/04/2012

You got me there.

[SD CD]

03:03 PM on 04/04/2012

They clear that with Apple? Apple's usually very understanding of such things.

[DRaymond]

03:22 PM on 04/04/2012

I could be a tactical thing:

1.  Undercut Apple's advertised price (including the price on Apple.com and in their stores).
2.  Apple, or the competing phone companies, take any action in response.
3.  Sue Apple, and all the other companies, for price-fixing!
4.  Profit!