To help ensure that AT&T gets their share of revenue generated by the iPhone. The deal is supposed to work both ways. AT&T gets new customers and thus generates revenue by carrying the iPhone and Apple gets a cut of the revenue generated by the iPhone as well as whatever they make off of the handset. If Apple sold unlocked iPhones in the US that would be taking business away from AT&T in a sense as well as the additional money AT&T gives Apple from the service(s) used by the iPhone users.
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To help ensure that AT&T gets their share of revenue generated by the iPhone. The deal is supposed to work both ways. AT&T gets new customers and thus generates revenue by carrying the iPhone and Apple gets a cut of the revenue generated by the iPhone as well as whatever they make off of the handset. If Apple sold unlocked iPhones in the US that would be taking business away from AT&T in a sense as well as the additional money AT&T gives Apple from the service(s) used by the iPhone users.