Complementing a similar program from Apple, which involves the Apple Store, phone carrier AT&T has announced its own online ordering system for the iPhone. The program is designed to cut down on excessive wait times, generated by mandatory in-store activations; through the online service, people can perform a credit and eligibility check in advance, leaving only the purchase and activation to complete in an AT&T outlet.

AT&T admits that it anticipating long wait times in the run-up to the holiday season, which has traditionally been a time of peak sales for Apple products. Both Apple and AT&T may be eager to avoid the severe sales problems which accompanied the launch of the iPhone 3G, forcing people to wait hours or days to buy an iPhone, due to crashing servers and a backlog of people running through financial details.