U.S. Cellular to Sell 'Apple Products' This Year

U.S. Cellular will begin selling "Apple products" later this year, the company announced in a first-quarter earnings report.

The carrier did not specify which Apple gadgets it will sell, though the iPhone 5 is most likely.

"By further strengthening our device portfolio, we'll give consumers another great reason to switch to U.S. Cellular, and enable our existing customers to choose from an even wider variety of iconic smartphones, and enjoy the outstanding U.S. Cellular customer experiences they deserve," U.S. Cellular said in a statement.

About 43 percent of U.S. Cellular customers currently use smartphones, allowing "significant room for growth," the company said.

T-Mobile made a similarly vague statement last year about selling "Apple products," and recently started offering the iPhone 5, as well as the iPhone 4 and 4S in select markets.

A number of regional U.S. carriers already offer the iPhone 5, including Cellcom, nTelos, Appalachian Wireless, C Spire, GCI, and Leap Wireless' Cricket Communications.

Leap Wireless, however, struggled with iPhone sales, telling regulators in February that it might lose $100 million on sales of the Apple smartphone.

During an April 30 earnings call, Leap CEO and director Stewart Douglas Hutcheson said the company continues "to work closely with Apple and [has] made progress on several fronts that may allow volumes to grow."

"We currently do not expect to purchase any additional iPhones in excess of the sales demand in the first year of the contract," he continued. "We believe that our iPhone sales volumes will resolve over time, and we're comfortable that the relationship we have with Apple will allow for an appropriate resolution over the lifetime of the agreement."

To help customers purchase higher-end devices like the iPhone, Leap said it will expand its device financing options this year.

U.S. Cellular, meanwhile, already offers Samsung's lineup of Galaxy devices, including the recently released Galaxy S 4, which is on sale now for $199.99 with a two-year contract.