Apple with "No Plans" to Change AT&T iPhone Exclusivity and Other Notes

[winterspan]

This doesn't make sense from any sort of logical business perspective.

As I posted before,

1) CDMA 3G is going to maintain widespread use on many CDMA carriers for sometime. Widespread use of LTE and in particular full, widespread service coverage is not going to be available for at least 18-24 months, and that's an incredibly ambitious timeline. Depending on many factors, including the DTV transition and economy, it could be even longer.

2) Even when widely deployed, many providers are expected to use dual-use devices that use LTE AND CDMA. Thus they are going to have to become familiar with the technology on a deep level anyways.

3) MOST PERSUASIVE is the fact that the United States is easily the largest market for the iPhone based on the total subscribers and the very favorable reception and general opinion of the iPhone. With Tmobile being a minor carrier and not even having a nationwide 3G network, Verizon and Sprint combined represent the vast majority of the ~100 million cellphone customers left in the nation after accounting for AT&T users, and they are all running on CDMA.

AT&T is going to run out of steam and the only for large growth is by opening up to CDMA carriers. Based on surveys, there are still some customers who would consider switching to AT&T for a new iPhone, but there are MILLIONS more that are NOT going to leave their preferred carrier that are very interested in purchasing an iPhone on their existing network.

Economically, there is no way you could convince me that the potential market of the 100 Million CDMA subscribers in the iPhone-receptive United States (and the ~400 million worldwide) is not enough to recoup the resources spent on creating an CDMA EV-DO iPhone.

 

[AppleG]

They need to start offering unlocked phones then.

Dude where have you been, AT&T has been already for the past several months. The 8gb unlocked model costs 499 and the 16gb model goes for 599... Unless you were asking a ? for Apple to release an unlocked version iphone for every carrier.... anyhow I still think Verizon should get an Iphone, you'll see how many people would switch in a heart beat...

 

[iMacoo7]

Agreedwith the current situation. Att's service has gotten better in my areabut still lacking 3G

 

[charlituna]

Dude where have you been, AT&T has been already for the past several months.

no they haven't. they have offered a no contract phone but it was still locked to ATT. you still void your warranty if you go off ATT etc.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

There are many people who shun AT&T for whatever reason. I can't see Apple ignoring these people forever. It is a growth market. Course by the sound of today's report, they don't need any more growth. So I would expect them to stay with AT&T for awhile. But not forever. At some point they will open it up. It's just a question of when. I suspect after the 4G rollouts.

 

[Azmordean]

1. I'm not sure where people get the idea AT&T is more expensive. I have a Verizon Blackberry. If I were on an individual plan, the CHEAPEST option would be 450 minutes/mo (39.99), unlimited data ($30.00), and 250 Texts ($5.00). Total price, $75.00 plus tax, so probably around 83 bucks a month. I believe AT&T's iPhone pricing is pretty comparable to this.

Now, it is true that you can sometimes save some money with TMo or Sprint - but that is generally because their networks do not offer the same level of coverage that AT&T and Verizon do. Verizon is the king of CDMA, AT&T the king of GSM, and there is a slight premium because of that.

2. GSM is not the "newer" technology. GSM has been around forever, CDMA is newer. Many experts believe CDMA is better, but in most cases, they are simply different ways of doing the same thing. But it is simply wrong to say that CDMA is "old technology."

3. I would probably buy an iPhone if there was one on Verizon, but as it is, I am quite happy with a BlackBerry. In this part of the country, Verizon / CDMA is king. Sure, in the DC metro area proper, all carriers have good service (exception - until 2012 or so, Verizon is the only service that works on the DC Metro), but once you get out into rural areas, particularly away from major highways, GSM dies out fast. The further south you get, the more this is true. For me, the number on priority with a cell device is having the best coverage possible, so no iPhone for me!

 

[chimerical]

Apple stated they wanted the iPhone to be a global hardware device which requires the use of the GSM standard. This may confirm claims by Verizon's CEO that Apple may have never intended to launch a CDMA (Verizon) iPhone. This situation may change when Verizon upgrades their networks.

I'm a bit confused. (Honest question) How does the situation change when Verizon upgrades their networks, which I keep hearing as LTE? What is LTE and where does it fit in with the whole GSM versus CDMA situation? Is LTE a unified replacement of both GSM and CDMA, hence allowing an upgrade to change the game?

 

[Surklyn]

This doesn't make sense from any sort of logical business perspective.

As I posted before,

1) CDMA 3G is going to maintain widespread use on many CDMA carriers for sometime. Widespread use of LTE and in particular full, widespread service coverage is not going to be available for at least 18-24 months, and that's an incredibly ambitious timeline. Depending on many factors, including the DTV transition and economy, it could be even longer.

2) Even when widely deployed, many providers are expected to use dual-use devices that use LTE AND CDMA. Thus they are going to have to become familiar with the technology on a deep level anyways.

3) MOST PERSUASIVE is the fact that the United States is easily the largest market for the iPhone based on the total subscribers and the very favorable reception and general opinion of the iPhone. With Tmobile being a minor carrier and not even having a nationwide 3G network, Verizon and Sprint combined represent the vast majority of the ~100 million cellphone customers left in the nation after accounting for AT&T users, and they are all running on CDMA.

AT&T is going to run out of steam and the only for large growth is by opening up to CDMA carriers. Based on surveys, there are still some customers who would consider switching to AT&T for a new iPhone, but there are MILLIONS more that are NOT going to leave their preferred carrier that are very interested in purchasing an iPhone on their existing network.

Economically, there is no way you could convince me that the potential market of the 100 Million CDMA subscribers in the iPhone-receptive United States (and the ~400 million worldwide) is not enough to recoup the resources spent on creating an CDMA EV-DO iPhone.

WHAT??? Are you crazy? CMDA is a dead tech. 2nd, AT&T reported 2.6, 1.9 and 1.6 million iphone sales in the last 3 quarters.. in AMERICA... those are remarkable numbers considering the new iPhone will be out in the next few months... from a business stand point the phone that would be accepted over more of the world is more important than the limited amount of Verizon subscribers that want one.

 

[Bobolicious]

no iPones in North Dakota

There goes my plans for an iPhone. There is no AT&T in North Dakota, so no phone. I'd love to have one.

 

[AppleG]

no they haven't. they have offered a no contract phone but it was still locked to ATT. you still void your warranty if you go off ATT etc.

You know for some strange reason my friend bought an iphone from att without a contract to use it with a different carrier which was T-mobile at that time and remarkably the phone was unlocked although phone itself was slow and gave her alot of issues so she decided to come back to AT&T...

 

[randomusername]

Then they at least need to sell an unlocked model. And they need to drop the unsubsidized price by...a lot.

Seriously, an 8GB iPod Touch costs $229 and an 8GB iPhone 3G costs $599. Does it really cost $370 extra for a plastic back, 2MP camera, 9 extra radios, an extra speaker and a microphone? I understand the iPhone costing more than the iPod Touch, but not by that much. Why did the iPhone go up to $599 from $399 for the 3G model? I doubt they added $200 worth of extras and improvements.

 

[kdarling]

I'm a bit confused. (Honest question) How does the situation change when Verizon upgrades their networks, which I keep hearing as LTE? What is LTE and where does it fit in with the whole GSM versus CDMA situation? Is LTE a unified replacement of both GSM and CDMA, hence allowing an upgrade to change the game?

It is confusing, because people will sometimes switch between the overall network scheme and what the actual air interface (radio type) is.

"CDMA" networks are completely CDMA over the air, for 2G up to 3G speeds.

"GSM" networks are TDMA over the air for 2G, and WCDMA for their 3G speeds.

They both use a mixture of older protocols to send your digitized voice from the tower back over T1/E1 lines to the landbased phone system, and for data and control.

"LTE" (Long Term Evolution) refers to a not-very-detailed specification for a 4G network that uses OFDMA radios, and a totally IP based backend. Wi-MAX is similar to it in many ways. By not-detailed, I mean each carrier could implement it differently.

The ideal is that since everything would be over IP packets, an LTE phone would use a form of VOIP for calls and of course IP for data, video, etc. Some dream that LTE phones would be the first universal phone. Well... maybe in ten years.

The practicality is that speed takes power. Therefore carriers see LTE more as competition for cable broadband at first (similar again to WiMAX), and plan to continue to use CDMA/GSM radios for voice and low-speed data on phones for years to come.

It will also take years for widespread LTE coverage. Therefore any LTE phone for the next five or so years will require a CDMA or GSM radio to fall back on. That makes it carrier dependent.

Another timeline killer is the amount of backhaul (tower-backend bandwidth) that's needed for LTE or even higher speed 3G. Current towers have very limited bandwidth (max 10Mbps) and are having to be upgraded radically. Backhaul upgrade cost is now reaching almost 40% of the cost of a wireless business. Billions of dollars. (Verizon will be making a killing off other carriers by leasing their FiOS lines.)

 

[Pooshka]

I'm so effin' happy that the greedy Nazi monopolists (a.k.a. Verizon Careless) ain't getting the iPhone any time soon. Ha ha ha.

 

[macaronie]

well this sux. for me =(

 

[kdarling]

WHAT??? Are you crazy? CMDA is a dead tech.

Oddly, the number of CDMA networks is growing around the world.

2nd, AT&T reported 2.6, 1.9 and 1.6 million iphone sales in the last 3 quarters.. in AMERICA... those are remarkable numbers considering the new iPhone will be out in the next few months...

All smartphone sales are up. Heck, even the Storm seems to have sold almost 1.5 million in three months.

from a business stand point the phone that would be accepted over more of the world is more important than the limited amount of Verizon subscribers that want one.

Not true at all. The billions of GSM subscribers include huge numbers that are too poor to get a data plan or have a home computer to sync and activate with... and or have no 3G access.

The fact is that around half of iPhone sales have been in the USA, not overseas. Opening the market to almost 140 million North American CDMA subscribers would be far, far more lucrative.

 

[Digital Skunk]

I agree, the 2 companies are the same in prices

Not the same at all. Sprint is bleeding customers, therefore their plans are very reasonable.

 

[butterfly0fdoom]

Then they at least need to sell an unlocked model. And they need to drop the unsubsidized price by...a lot.

Then you'll hear people complaining about not getting 3G with T-Mobile.

 

[twoodcc]

one thing is for sure, the app store is helping the iPhone

 

[clownjuggles]

Not really, I would never ever use a cell network for my data. I run wireless networks at my home and office and frankly have no desire to be that connected outside of either location. Those of us that are t-mobile really could give two spits over 3G or edge. What is more important in my eyes is a seamless syncing of my phone with my computer.

 

[winterspan]

WHAT??? Are you crazy? CMDA is a dead tech. 2nd, AT&T reported 2.6, 1.9 and 1.6 million iphone sales in the last 3 quarters.. in AMERICA... those are remarkable numbers considering the new iPhone will be out in the next few months... from a business stand point the phone that would be accepted over more of the world is more important than the limited amount of Verizon subscribers that want one.

Asking if I'm crazy doesn't exactly replace the need for sound arguments. Did you even read my post?

Who cares if AT&T sold a lot of iPhones.. In fact that is probably a good indicator of how well a CDMA iPhone would o in America. Secondly no one said to get rid of the UMTS iPhone -- they can easily both models or an integrated model that is compatible with both technologies..

All smartphone sales are up. Heck, even the Storm seems to have sold almost 1.5 million in three months....

Not true at all. The billions of GSM subscribers include huge numbers that are too poor to get a data plan or have a home computer to sync and activate with... and or have no 3G access.

The fact is that around half of iPhone sales have been in the USA, not overseas. Opening the market to almost 140 million North American CDMA subscribers would be far, far more lucrative.

Hey, a rational non-fanboy! Good to see yeah! Also, they could easily
produce models for both technologues or an integrated model that is compatible with both technologies..

 

[aristobrat]

Also, they could easily
produce models for both technologues or an integrated model that is compatible with both technologies..

But they're not going to, so why keep beating a dead horse?

 

[aprilfools]

Please excuse my ignorance on this subject as I really don't know the difference between a CDMA network or GSM network. As far as I'm concerned it doesn't really matter who has a got a better so called network. The bottom line is, once I press the send key using my cell phone it connects. I am on Verizon and I can make calls and receive calls just like AT&T users. What else do you really need your cell phone to do? Is CDMA horse and buggy technology? is it really that antiquated? what's the big deal about a GSM network? Does it cook, clean and wash your clothes too? Can someone qualified in the subject please explain to me why GSM is considered superior. Hey, it’s not like Verizon uses walky talky technology, but apparently most of you techie types think so. Please explain.

 

[jav6454]

I for one hate Verizon and would like to see them rot. Yeah, its that bad my hate. On the other hand, Verizon is what keeps AT&T improving, so in that sense I guess Verizon is ok.

Overall, I hope that Verizon NEVER ever gets the iPhone.

I agree completely. When I first bought my iPhone, the coverage from AT&T honestly blew, however, in 2 years they've DRAMATICALLY improved their coverage in my area (and in areas in the mountains where I didn't get coverage even from Verizon), and I now have 3G in my area, which I didn't when I first bought the phone. This shows me the company is serious about improving their service. Thus I am not about to abandon a company which has shown me improved service year by year.

I like this quote. I have always had great coverage with AT&T and I also happen to have a 3G Data Card. Now that AT&T has been improving their service the one or two dropped calls a week have gone down to only 1 dropped call a month. My 3G speeds are blazing at 3.6Mbps, considering many market areas are still at 1.8Mbps from the first deployment and 7.2Mbps is being deployed as we speak.

Not only that, but they have started to strengthen their 3G coverage and improve it. True it lacks some work, but it is underway. Look at AT&T's current 2.75G (EDGE) network. Its everywhere! I was surprise when I was going from from Ontario, California to fabulous Las Vegas. All the way in the highway/freeway I had EDGE data at very high speeds 256 kbps (or 32 KB/s). I was surprised since it was in the middle of the dessert or nowhere, and I was still browsing MacRumors or Gizmodo as if I were home. I even downloaded fast 2 songs from iTunes for ***** sakes! AT&T is very well positioned to have a killer network, Verizon not so much. Why? My aunt, uncle & cousin have Verizon, their phones ran out of signal (2 to no bars) as soon as we hit the middle of nowhere (From Barstow to Baker, Calif). I on the other hand, was the only one with a strong 5-4 bar signal all the way. I was very impressed in AT&T and am committed to stay with them as they have proven to me where ever I go, their service has been spot on and improving. One day, 3G will be like that, when? I hope in the next 5 years or so.

In the mean time, Verizon can suck it...

 

[ebrunn]

Yep, wont ever make a non-GSM iPhone. GSM is the world standard.

 

[StuddedLeather]

Oh well I'm Satisfied with AT&T, besides it's like they let Apple do anything they want with no questions asked!