Ntelos Holdings Corporation, Virginia phone company, sells iPhone at discount

NEW YORK (AP) — A small Virginia-based cellphone company says it's going to start selling the iPhone, at prices that undercut the big carriers.

Ntelos Holdings Corp. says it will sell the basic model of the latest iPhone, the 4S, for $150, $49 less than AT&T, Verizon and Sprint charge. A two-year contract is required, with monthly service fees of $80 or $100.

The company, which is based in Waynesboro and has about 421,000 subscribers under the nTelos Wireless brand, is the fifth U.S. phone company to get the iPhone. Mississippi-based regional carrier C Spire Wireless started selling it late last year.

Phone companies subsidize the iPhone, which costs about $600 wholesale. Selling it means shouldering a big upfront cost. Chief Financial Officer Stebbins Chandor says the phone would start paying off in 2014.