In a report from The Wall Street Journal, AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson is believed to be in talks with Apple to try and secure an extension to their lucrative deal of being the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the US.
It has been speculated this week that the current deal is set to expire in 2010 even though reports from 2007 suggested that the AT&T deal would run exclusively for 5 years.
"But AT&T's exclusive deal to carry the iPhone in the U.S. expires next year, according to people familiar with the matter, and Mr. Stephenson is now in discussions with Apple Inc. to get an extension until 2011."
In the second half of 2008 AT&T had acquired some 4.3 million iPhone subscribers, of which roughly 40% were new customers to the network. With that in mind it's clear why AT&T are keen extend this exclusive deal further.
[via WSJ.com]
