AT&T Locks Up iPhone Exclusivity Into 2010 And Pins Much Of Its Future On The Device

AT&T (NYSE: T) locked another year on its exclusive distribution deal with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) for the iPhone, bringing the agreement into 2010, according to a USA Today piece. AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson secured the extension after he upped the ante on his iPhone bet and hatched a plan with Apple CEO Steve Jobs to get the carrier to subsidize about $300 on the device to drop it below the $200 sweet spot. Stephenson said he’s extremely pleased with the relationship, and this despite all the ongoing issues between the two companies. Apple caused quite a headache for the carrier when it launched the device last month and encountered countless errors at the point of sale and activation due to errors on Apple’s end. Moreover, Apple appears to be restocking its retail stores with the device daily while many AT&T stores are looking at three weeks or more in backorders. Indeed, few if any AT&T stores have had the device in stock since the launch weekend when the companies moved more than 1 million units of the iPhone 3G. The piece all but pinned Stephenson’s legacy on the agreement he and former Cingular CEO Stan Sigman pursued with Apple on the iPhone. Reflecting on his decision in 2005 to