Ntelos, a small Virginia-based cellphone company, has launched the iPhone 4S ahead of T-Mobile and larger network providers because of its broadband internet speed capabilities, Slashgear reports.

The basic model of the iPhone 4S will go on sale at Ntelos stores on April.20 priced at just $150, which is $50 less than leading iPhone suppliers such as Verizon and AT&T.

IPhones with higher memory storage will go on sale for $250-$350. The prices are applicable for customers who carry a two-year contract on the network.

Ntelos connects to mobile data with CDMA iX and EV-DO frequencies, which functions in the same way as Verizon's wireless network.

Ntelos is the fifth U.S phone company to acquire the iPhone. Bigger phone companies such as U.S. Cellular turned down iPhone distribution after finding it too expensive, the Huffington Post reported.

Ntelos, which has some 421,000 subscribers, says it needed the iPhone to fill a gap in their smartphone lineup and compete with other carriers.

In the first quarter, the company lost about 5,000 subscribers from its contract-based plans, which are the most lucrative, while adding subscribers to cheaper prepaid services, Ntelos CEO James Hyde, told the Huffington post.

T-Mobile

One question that still remains is whether T-Mobile will launch the iPhone. Now that Apple has launched 4G LTE products, it is likely that T-Mobile will not get the iPhone until its network can keep up with the phone's mobile network capacities.

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