AT&T Inc said on Wednesday that it was suspending preordering of the next Apple Inc iPhone while it tries to meet the fulfill number of orders it has already received.

AT&T, the exclusive U.S. provider for iPhone, said orders of the iPhone 4 on Tuesday, the first day of online preorders, were 10 times higher than for the iPhone 3G S last year.

The company said that availability of additional inventory would determine if it can resuming taking orders.

Heavy demand caused technical problems on the AT&T and Apple website on Tuesday, leading some consumers to instead try ordering the phones at stores.

AT&T did not comment on its technology problems or complaints about consumer privacy breaches in a short statement it issued on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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