AT&T Pulls iPhone Online Sales in NYC Metro Area

By  |  Monday, December 28, 2009 at 8:35 am

If you’re looking to buy an iPhone in New York City, better be ready to visit your local Apple or AT&T store. The carrier has pulled the phone from its online lineup, and is giving little if any reason as to why it has done so. It appears to also be unavailable in Westchester County in New York and also in NYC’s New Jersey suburbs.

The Big Apple is one of AT&T’s problem spots when it comes to its network, and many have blamed high concentrations of the iPhone in the city for the problems. I guess the easiest way to fix this would be to attempt to slow down sales of the device there and hope that it keeps the problem from getting any worse.

“We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels,” was all AT&T gave Consumerist’s Laura Northrup when she asked for official comment. A online sales reprsentative went further, saying the company  doesn’t “have enough towers to handle the phone.” There’s your answer, folks.

One has to think that Apple must be pretty upset right now. It now appears to be AT&T’s strategy to shut down sales of the iPhone in an area if its network can’t handle it. So who’s next? San Francisco? Philadelphia? Los Angeles? If this move isn’t an argument to trash the AT&T exclusive agreement ASAP, I don’t know what is.

Only a matter of time before Verizon makes fun of this one…

 
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5 Comments For This Post

  1. Jeebus Says:

    Now would be a good time for Apple to release that CDMA iPhone…ATT deserves a kick in the teeth.

    Why was my 3G coverage PERFECT from the Sierra crest to Auburn on I-80 yesterday, and yet I still can’t get decent coverage at a Niners game?

  2. GR Says:

    You said : “If you’re looking to buy an iPhone in New York City, better be ready to visit your local Apple or AT&T store.”

    Or you can just buy one online (in NYC or elsewhere) direct from Apple. No need to get off the couch.

    http://www.apple.com/iphone/buy/

    I never understood why someone with access to an Apple store would buy an iPhone from an AT&T online/physical store anyway.

  3. Cell phone Reviews Says:

    this is all just a lot of speculation about a bug? Surely it is possible the database that drives offers by ZIP code got fat fingered.

  4. Ed Oswald Says:

    Doubt it, especially when AT&T PR is saying what they are, and your customer service representatives are saying NYC “Isn’t ready for the iPhone.”

  5. Jessica Magert Says:

    Perhaps by fraud, they mean tons of phones being snatched up for unlocking? Still, that makes little sense. Curious to see how AT&T (and Fake Steve) respond tomorrow.