New York City customers could once again purchase the iPhone online, Tech Talk has confirmed, as the Associated Press originally reported Monday afternoon.
AT&T customers living in New York City discovered over the past few days that they were no longer able to purchase the wildly popular iPhone from its Web site.
Customers who entered a New York City ZIP code were instructed to “Please shop for another phone.”
AT&T has yet to explain the reason for the suspension of sales, which the AP reports began several days ago, beyond that it periodically “modifies” its distribution channels.
The AP had previously reported that the phone company said its data network is overburdened with iPhone users in New York and San Francisco creating speculation that the sales blackout is a traffic management technique.
However, interestingly customers were always able to purchase iPhones in New York City stores and from Apple’s Web site, AT&T customers reported extensively online.
Customers in New York have complained for months of dropped calls and slow service. An AT&T representative indirectly confirmed that such service was at least particularly responsible for the change in service.
The Consumerist, the blog that may have broken the news, quoted an AT&T customer service representative as saying “New York is not ready for the iPhone. … You don’t have enough towers to handle the phone.”
Mashable, the social media Web site, reported that some callers to AT&T were told that sales have been halted due to fraud.
