The question for AT&T is how much it is willing to pay to be the sole seller of the iPhone. None of the analysts would speculate on what form of payment might be involved, partly because there are so many variables at work. The payment could be as simple as paying Apple more upfront for each phone AT&T sells, or it could be as complex as Apple getting AT&T to agree not to sell any number of specific smartphone models made by Apple's competitors. It will likely be a combination of many things, they said.

"AT&T is probably saying, 'This is a huge win for us; let's expand the terms with Apple.' Otherwise, why would Apple even do it?" said Kevin Burden, an analyst at ABI Research Inc.