iSuppli said it expected Apple to extend its exclusive iPhone service deal with AT&T although this may not be the boon for AT&T that it appears to be.
Francis Sideco, principal analyst on wireless communications for iSuppli, said the main reason Apple is likely to stick with AT&T beyond 2010 is the relatively wide usage and growth expected for the high-speed packet access air standard used by the carrier for 3G data.
But for AT&T, the extremely high use of data services by iPhone users has severely taxed the carrier’s network capacity.