U.S. Cellular to launch iPad Air on Nov. 8, hints at regional carrier availability

In its announcement, U.S. Cellular said the iPad Air will be offered in a range of plans allowing the tablet to connect to its 4G LTE network. While the product has yet to show up on the company's official webpage, it can be expected that the latest iPad will net the same data tiers available to other tablets like Samsung's Galaxy Note series.

It was previously reported that U.S. Cellular would be granted access to Apple's newest iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on Nov. 8, making the day a big one for the company.

The announcement comes on the heels of news that smaller regional providers C Spire and Bluegrass Cellular would also carry the iPad Air, though a definite timeline was not announced. At the time, telecoms quoted a launch date "in the coming weeks." While mere speculation, the larger U.S. Cellular's sell-by date could offer some perspective as to Apple's rollout schedule for carriers beyond the "big-four," Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

U.S. Cellular first announced that it would begin carrying Apple products in May. At the time, the company was the sixth-largest wireless carrier in the country.