AT&T has begun restricting its sales of Apple’s iPhone to one device per customer, according to employees at AT&T stores Macworld called in California and New York on Thursday. Also, customers can now only purchase an iPhone using a credit card.
Reports of the one-iPhone-per-customer limitation surfaced earlier this week when AppleInsider reprinted an internal AT&T memo notifying its retail department of the new policy.
The news from AT&T follows closely behind widespread iPhone shortages for Apple’s own online and retail locations in the U.S. Staff at Apple’s retail stores said they had no information on when new shipments of the iPhone would be available.
The U.S. is not the only country short on iPhones. In the U.K, both Apple and its partners, O2 and Carphone Warehouse, are out of stock.
The iPhone shortages are fueling speculation about the introduction of a new iPhone model, widely expected to come out during Apple’s sold out Worldwide Developers Conference beginning June 9. AT&T executives have dropped hints over the past year, but Apple has been tight lipped on its plans.
Apple executives acknowledged the iPhone shortages during its quarterly financial conference call, attributing the shortfall to higher than forecasted demand in the post-holiday buying environment.