Itis getting harderto findgoodexcuses for being offline: thisweekthe European Unionallowedairlines to offerin-flightmobile-phoneservice, and severalcarriershaveWi-Fi.
But, a slowing economy and oil price-induced higher fares have damped demand this year, leading severalcarriers to cut costs via pruning routes and reducing staff.
Alternately, it could signal that severalcarriers were interested and Samsung accelerated its usual go-to-market strategy to deliver the phone to as many partners as possible.