UPDATED:iPhone sales shut down in the Big Apple to save bandwidth?

Has Apple finally figured out a way to reduce heavy use of broadband in New York City? According to the Consumerist, and confirmed by a simple check at the AT&T Wireless site, an attempt to purchase Apple's iconic touchscreen phone using a New York City zip code produced the result, "Sorry, this package is not available in your area." Punching in a South Florida zip code produced the normal result with different phone plans being offered. When the Consumerist spoke with a customer service rep for AT&T, they were told that "New York City is not ready for the iPhone. You (the citizens of New York City) don't have enough towers to handle the phone." When BGR went online with a customer rep, they were told that at present, the iPhone was not available in Brooklyn. Yes, by not selling anymore iPhones to those living in the Big, uh...Apple might reduce some data congestion, it doesn't account for those who commute to the city to work, and it sets a poor precedent. While the congestion would eventually stop, so would the flow of money coming into the company. Besides, there will be plenty of ways to get around this including using third party shipping stores. If this is all that AT&T has up its sleeve, the carrier needs to put its thinking cap back on.

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source: TheConsumerist via BGR



*UPDATE*
According to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T has resumed selling the iPhone online to those in New York City. A quick test shows that the AT&T web site is now taking orders for Apple's touchscreen device.

source: WSJ