By Technolog

Cole Brodman, chief marketing officer of T-Mobile USA, is quoted as saying, "We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year," according to a leaked corporate town hall report dated Sept. 15 that was shared with TmoNews.

We are in touch with T-Mobile's PR, and await verification of the quote, but at this point it sounds plausible. Sprint iPhone rumors have been reaching peaks of late, but there haven't been any commensurate T-Mobile rumors, so observers were beginning to wonder about the chances of an iPhone on T-Mobile. At this point, the safe call is that there will be a new iPhone within weeks on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint ... but not T-Mo.

Over on TmoNews, there's debate over what "this year" means — perhaps there will be an early spring launch like there was with the Verizon iPhone 4. Also, since the quote says "iPhone 5," perhaps there's hope for the cheaper iPhone on T-Mobile. That's probably wishful thinking, but worth pointing out.

Regardless, if the three larger carriers get an iPhone and T-Mobile remains out in the cold, it will be another blow to a carrier that is not having a great year: If they don't merge with AT&T — a move which is being challenged legally and would easily turn off many customers — they may continue to waste away. And it's sad for the many people who believe the only thing better than an iPhone would be an iPhone on a discounted T-Mobile plan.

We'll let you know if we hear anything from T-Mobile, but the wording is pretty clear. If they can't deny it flat out, it's probably true.

UPDATE: We just received T-Mobile's statement, which as you can see in no way denies Brodman's alleged quote.

We don’t comment on rumors. We remain focused on expanding our portfolio of 4G smartphones. We look forward to sharing on Monday news about our latest and greatest product lineup.

More on the iPhone 5 and T-Mobile:

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Technolog