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iPhone on its way to T-Mobile in three to four months, CEO says

T-Mobile won't say exactly when the smartphone will be available in its stores, but its CEO tells Reuters it'll land sooner rather than later.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
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The wait on Apple's iPhone is soon coming to an end at T-Mobile.

The carrier's chief executive, John Legere, told Reuters in an interview published today that the iPhone will come to T-Mobile "in three to four months." He didn't say exactly when the smartphone would be made available to customers, but indicated that the iPhone will launch around the same time that his company plans to eliminate subsidies.

Interestingly, T-Mobile is already home to iPhone customers. In an interview with CNET yesterday, company Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said that there are now 1.9 million iPhones running on the T-Mobile network, and about 100,000 new Apple smartphones are coming in each month.

Accommodating those customers' desire for speedier wireless service is at the top of T-Mobile's list right now. The company is far behind its chief competitors, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, in terms of higher-speed mobile connectivity. T-Mobile announced yesterday that its HSPA+ network is available in 46 metro areas and covers about 126 million people. It hopes to cover 100 million people with 4G LTE by the middle of the year. Verizon has more than double that coverage.