AT&T may have to pay dearly to retain iPhone exclusively

15.04.2009
AT&T Inc. would seem to have every reason in the world to want an extension of its exclusive agreement with Apple Inc. to sell the iPhone and run it over AT&T's wireless networks.

For Apple, continuing the exclusive agreement with AT&T seems less advantageous as time goes on, since selling the iPhone through more carriers would increase the number of devices sold.

Plus, AT&T would need to greatly sweeten the terms of its current agreement just to keep Apple in its fold, industry observers said.