Apple & AT&T's Exclusive iPhone Deal May End in 2010

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) could be ending its exclusive iPhone agreement with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) within a year, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Munster said a non-exclusive deal would be far more lucrative for Apple because it opens up the device to a larger potential audience who will not or cannot switch to AT&T. The analyst said Apple went from an exclusive deal in France to a multi-carrier agreement and it now has a dramatically higher market share there than in markets where it is tied to one mobile operator.

"We expect Apple to add new iPhone carriers in the United States within the next year (likely with a new product launch next summer)," Munster wrote in a research note to clients.

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— Marin Perez, InformationWeek

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