After waiting more than four years to get their hands on the iPhone, it looks like rural carriers won't have to wait as long to get the latest version of Apple's popular smartphone.

Cellcom, C Spire Wireless, Appalachian Wireless, nTelos Wireless, General Communications, Inc. and Matanuska Telephone Association all say they will offer the iPhone 5 on Sept.28. None have announced pricing or rate plans for the device.

The six providers were part of a group of regional carriers to land the iPhone over the past year. C Spire was the first to offer the smartphone last November, followed in April of this year by Cellcom, GCI, Appalachian Wireless, MTA Solutions, Alaska Communication Systems and nTelos Wireless. 

Alaska Communications Systems is the only provider of the group that hasn't yet announced the iPhone 5. It could not be immediately reached for comment. 

The arrival of the iPhone 5 at the tier three providers was not entirely unexpected. GCI, nTelos and Cellcom told Wireless Week earlier this summer that it expected to get upcoming iPhone models at about the same time as larger operators like AT&T and Verizon Wireless. 

The providers reported that meeting Apple's requirements to carry the iPhone required significant upgrades to back-end systems around billing, inventory and customer service. The companies agreed to the costly improvements because they viewed the iPhone as critical to competing against national operators offering the device. 

GCI reported last month that the iPhone has been "well received" by customers, with about 40 percent of iPhone sales going to new customers. NTelos has not provided sales numbers of the device, but its CEO attributed the iPhone to recent customer gains. 

Alaska Communications said the iPhone launch had an impact on its bottom line during the second quarter, but helped bring in subscribers. Nearly half of its device sales were from the iPhone, with 21 percent of those sales going to new customers. One in ten of Alaska Communications' postpaid customers used the iPhone by the end of June.

Cricket Communications will sell a prepaid version of the iPhone. Virgin Mobile USA, which began selling a prepaid iPhone this summer, has not said whether it will also offer the iPhone 5. 

T-Mobile USA and U.S. Cellular still don't have the iPhone. The device's absence is a glaring gap in the operators' lineup, especially for T-Mobile. The country's fourth-largest operator is working to turn itself around, but still doesn't have LTE or the iPhone, leaving it at a major competitive disadvantage to rivals Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.