AT&T has blocked users in the greater New York City area from purchasing iPhone’s. The rationale is still being debated, but it seems to be just the latest in a series of public relations and strategic blunders for the number two U.S. wireless provider.
The story started with a reader contacting the Consumerist, claiming that AT&T’s website would not let him buy an iPhone when he entered a New York area ZIP code for his location. Consumerist verified that customers entering a range of metro-area ZIP codes were being blocked from ordering iPhones (though incidentally, San Francisco ZIP codes work just fine). A customer service representative verified that this was the case, explaining that the network couldn’t handle the iPhone.
Apple’s iPhone, a cell phone with computer-like capabilities such as Web browsing and video games, has become one of the most popular smartphones on the market.
We did some checking of our own and confirmed Consumerist’s original report. You can’t buy the iPhone from AT&T’s Website if you use a New York City zip code, as the screenshot below indicates. We also put in a call to AT&T to find out why the company was no longer offering the iPhone in the Big Apple.
“We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels,” said Mark Siegel, executive director of media relations for AT&T Mobility on Monday. He declined to elaborate on why and which areas specifically the company’s online iPhone sales are being halted.