iPhone 5 Release Date September 21 As AT&T Announces Vacation Blackout For Its Employees

More and more moves by carriers are giving the public a good idea of exactly when the iPhone 5 should be available for purchase. If the recent vacation blackout policy instituted by Verizon, and now AT&T, is any indication, the iPhone 5 will be in stores by September 21.

This helps confirm the dates which were first leaked by iMore. The website broke the story that Apple would be holding a press conference on September 12 in order to showcase a new line of Apple products including the next-gen iPhone, an iPad Mini, and new iPods. They then stated that it would be in consumers' hands as early as September 21 in the United States, and October 5 internationally.

AT&T joined Verizon in instituting a policy where no employees can take a vacation leave from September 21-30.

"According to an AT&T sales rep, AT&T staff has been given a vacation blackout from September 21 to September 30, just like Verizon employees. Our source also mentioned that blue carrier employees are undergoing training for an "iconic release,'" writes TechCrunch.

Earlier reports from BGR confirmed that AT&T was planning on launching the iPhone 5 in the third or fourth week of September, and that the carrier had postponed a regional training event in early October because it would conflict with a "huge announcement."

The iPhone 5 will launch on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. There is no word on T-Mobile's stance, although the company has confirmed that the iPhone is incompatible with T-Mobile's network in its current design. U.S. Cellular will most likely not have initial shipments of the iPhone 5, as the big three national carriers will be facing an unprecedented demand for a handset.

If all the rumors shape up to be true, the iPhone 5 will be the first major overhaul to the iPhone's design in a long time. Most noticeably, it should sport a larger 4-inch screen and 4G LTE support. The next-gen iPhone should also run Apple's iOS 6 at launch, and  come with a more powerful, efficient processor.