While Apple has yet to announce a schedule or country list for its second major round of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launches, the company does appear to be coordinating a minor expansion of availability for Tuesday, October 1, with a number of smaller regional U.S. carriers announcing plans to launch the devices on that date.
Carriers involved in the October 1 launch include:
- Appalachian Wireless
- Bluegrass Cellular
- C Spire
- Cellcom
- GCI
- MTA
- Nex-Tech Wireless
- Ntelos
- Strata
Several other regional carriers have announced that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are "coming soon" and some of those carriers may also be participating in the October 1 rollout, but they have not announced their exact launch dates yet.
Apple has gradually expanded availability of the iPhone on regional carriers throughout the United States in recent years, with over 25 U.S. carriers now offering the device.
Update: Canadian regional carriers also appear to be participating in the October 1 launch, with MTS announcing its launch a short time ago. SaskTel lists the new iPhones as "coming soon", but representatives have so far only said on Twitter and Facebook that the carrier is still working out launch details.
Update 2: SaskTel has now officially announced that it too will begin selling the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1.
Update 3: Alaska Communications has also announced that it will begin selling the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c beginning on October 1.
