One week after Apple (AAPL) successfully released the iPhone 5, which will cost at least $199 with a two-year contract for a 16GB model, $299 (32GB model) and $399 (64GB model), US regional carriers Appalachian Wireless, C Spire, Cellcom, Cricket, GCI and nTelos are selling the next-generation smartphone for a discount over what major carriers AT&T (T), Sprint (S) and Verizon (VZ) are charging.
According to BGR, Cellcom, nTelos and Appalachian will launch Apple’s new iPhone with $50 discounts on all three iPhone 5 models: $149 for the 16GB version, $249 for the 32GB model and $349 for the 64GB model.
The same regional carriers are also selling the 16GB iPhone 4S for $49.99 with a 48-month contract, or $50 less than Apple, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless. If that’s still too much to pay for a smartphone, you can pick up the iPhone 4 from some of these carriers for free.
For users more interested in an off-contract purchase, Cricket will offer the iPhone 5 at $499.99, which is $150 off the price AT&T charges.
iPhone 5, the world’s most iconic device, sold five million handsets in the first three days of availability alone, draining initial supplies.
“We’ve seen the anticipation for iPhone 5 grow and are excited to soon offer our customers this fantastic phone on our network,” Cellcom CEO Pat Riordan said in a statement.
Cellcom, nTelos, Appalachian Wireless and GCI are following the same competitive pricing strategy with the new iPhone as they did with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, by offering $50 discount when they began selling the smartphones last spring.
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