Sprint will for the first time sell an iPhone, starting with the next generation of the phone, in mid-October, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Sprint has struggled to keep up with its larger rivals, namely AT&T and Verizon, both of which now sell the popular iPhone 4. Being one of the first to offer the new version of the phone could give it a much needed boost.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said that Verizon and AT&T will also start selling the new phones, which people are referring to as the iPhone 5, around the same time.
Sprint may also offer the iPhone 4 around the same time, the paper reported.
Rumors about the iPhone 5 have been rampant. Some suggest that the phone will be dual mode so that a Sprint customer, for instance, could use the phone while traveling in Europe.
Many people had expected the phone to become available in September.
Apple, which did not reply to a request for comment about the report, has not revealed any details of the phone or launch details. Sprint declined to comment.
Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com