iPhone requires Cingular contract; No other carriers anytime soon

The iPhone will require a two-year Cingular service plan, according to reports. “We spoke with Cingular and confirmed that Apple’s new iPhone will require a two-year cell phone plan and will not be sold without it,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ellen Lee. At a CES press conference in Las Vegas following the iPhone’s introduction, Cingular confirmed that customers must agree to a two-year contract in order to buy the iPhone, even if that requires customers to renew their current service plan with the company. Cingular also said that the company’s exclusive rights to sell the iPhone is a “multi-year agreement in the U.S.,” meaning the device won’t be offered by other carriers anytime soon.