AT&T loses exclusive rights to the iPhone next June?

An increasing number of rumors go that AT&T will lose its exclusive rights to sell the iPhone on the US market. The latest information comes from Brian Marshall, market analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, who has stated the deal between Apple and AT&T expires in June 2010. In his interview for Bloomberg ТV he also mentioned that in his opinion, the second carrier to offer the iPhone across the US would probably be Verizon. Mr. Marshall also thinks that the subsidy that telecommunication companies offer for each sold unit of Apple´s popular device will be slashed from $450 to $300 when AT&T´s exclusive rights have come to an end.

Of course, AT&T will most probably end up hurt financially if the iPhone rolls out through several other carriers, but this will certainly have positive effect on Apple´s results. For an instance, the total sales of the iPhone have more than doubled since Orange lost its exclusive rights for distribution of the device in France.