Leap Wireless may be in the midst of becoming property of AT&T, but that has not stopped the no-contract carrier from bringing out new devices as the carrier announced plans to begin offering Apple’s latest iPhone 5S and 5C devices beginning Oct. 25. Pricing for the new devices was not announced, though it’s expected they will sell for near-full retail price, which would be $550 for the 5C and $650 for the 5S.
Leap began offering Apple products in mid-2012 as part of a three-year, $900 million commitment. Leap’s management noted earlier this year that it ran into some initial issues meeting iPhone sales targets, noting it was working on several fronts with Apple that could help propel sales volumes.
“We believe that our iPhone sales volumes will resolve over time, and we’re comfortable that the relationship we have with Apple will allow for an appropriate resolution over the lifetime of the agreement,” explained Leap CEO Doug Hutcheson, during the carrier’s first quarter earnings release conference call.
The carrier followed up the admission by rolling out new plans for iPhone devices that included a lower-priced entry-level plan as well as a discount for multi-line plans.
Leap’s initial iPhone launch included the then nine-month-old iPhone 4S at $500 at the previous generation iPhone 4 for $400, with Leap adding the iPhone 5 in Sept. 2013. Leap currently offers the iPhone 5 for $600, while the iPhone 4S and 4 remain at $500 and $400 respectively.
One challenge for Leap continues to be that its iPhone 5 and soon-to-be iPhone 5C and 5S customers will have only limited access to LTE services, as the carrier has only rolled out the new technology across a small portion of its network. That network is stuck at around 21 million potential customers covered, with is less than one-fourth of its 3G footprint. Leap management noted before AT&T put in its acquisition bid that it “may” add LTE coverage to an additional 10 million pops this year, though those plans appear to now be on hold.
Leap noted late last year that it had signed a nationwide LTE roaming deal with a larger carrier, which was thought to have been Sprint as Leap rolled out a number of LTE devices that supported Band Class 25, which is what Sprint is using for its LTE network. That deal was set to begin this summer. Leap last year also signed an LTE roaming agreement with Clearwire to take advantage of that carrier’s plans to rollout LTE services in the 2.5 GHz band. Clearwire has since been acquired by Sprint.
Apple does offer a couple of iPhone 5S and 5C models with embedded support for Leap’s CDMA-based 3G network, its limited LTE network across the 1.7/2.1 GHz and 1.9 GHz bands and AT&T Mobility’s LTE network running across the 700 MHz band. That support could be enabled allowing Leap customers to at some point begin roaming across AT&T Mobility’s LTE network should its purchase be approved by regulators.
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