Apple's much-anticipated iPhone will be released today, but it might not do Black Hills residents much good.

That's because AT&T Wireless, the only cell phone service provider carrying the phone, doesn't do business in South Dakota.

People will be able to use the phones in South Dakota, but only by roaming off Alltel towers, said Brian Rounds, a utilities analyst with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

"Most of the places you can actually get Alltel services, you should be able to get at least voice services from AT&T," he said. Alltel has an agreement with AT&T that allows AT&T customers to roam off Alltel towers, and vice versa.

But Rounds said many of the data capabilities of the new phone may be unavailable in areas other than larger towns.

Some of those data capabilities include browsing the Internet, sending e-mail and purchasing music.

The iPhone is a cell phone that also features a music player, a Web browser and many other features. The phone has a 3.5-inch screen, on which users can watch videos and perform other multimedia functions. iPhones are $499 for a 4-gigabyte model and $599 for the 6-gigabyte model.

The phone has been a hot topic as it is a kind of spinoff from Apple's popular music player called the iPod.

To make things even harder for iPhone-seekers, local businesses don't appear to be selling the products because there is no AT&T Wireless in South Dakota. That was the case at Rapid City's Best Buy and Computer Village, which deals specifically with Apple products. Representatives from both stores said the phone wouldn't be stocked because of the lack of the service provider.

Rounds said he heard the phones wouldn't be sold in South Dakota.

"The problem is that you're going to have to pick up AT&T at an AT&T dealer," Rounds said. "You're going to have to go to Sioux City or Denver or somewhere like that that actually has AT&T service."

Some consumers may be wondering whether AT&T Wireless may begin providing service in South Dakota, which would enable people to use the iPhone.

That's not very likely, Rounds said. "I don't see that happening anytime soon, mostly just because we've got less than a million people and we've got 77,000 square miles. So you're talking like 10 people per square mile. … For a cell phone company, that's not extremely profitable."

In addition, it is unlikely that either of the two available cell phone service providers in the Black Hills - Alltel and Verizon Wireless - will be able to offer the iPhone anytime soon.

Rounds said Apple has signed an exclusive five-year contract with AT&T Wireless that will prevent other providers from providing the phone.

Despite the obvious roadblocks, Rounds thinks some South Dakotans may still decide to purchase the iPhone.

"I don't think it's going to be sold in South Dakota, but I'll bet there are going to be a couple people that are going to pick them up anyway and bring them here," he said.

Rounds said the phone's Internet and other capabilities might make it useful for students and others. And, he said, some people just might really want to have the phone, despite its apparent impracticalities in the state and its high price tag.

"If you go anywhere in rural South Dakota, you're not going to be able to use it, in most cases," he said. "But if you're really techie, and you're really into some of the music and video and stuff like, where you've just got to have the really cool interface, you know, (it) may be worth it."

Scott Morris, an Alltel spokesman from the company's corporate headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., said although Alltel doesn't have any phones identical to the iPhone, the company does have somewhat similar products.

"We have a wide array of pretty sophisticated smart phones that will do a lot of things," he said. That includes playing music and different interface options, he said.

Morris said it was "impossible to predict" whether Alltel would ever carry the iPhone.

Representatives from Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless could not be reached for comment.

Rounds said he thought it would be nice if South Dakotans could use the phone.

"I wish we were getting it because I think it's pretty cool," he said.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com