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Raj Aggarwal Details Jobs' Tenacity in AT&T/Apple Revenue Sharing Deal

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Steve Jobs was able to strike an unprecedented revenue sharing deal with AT&T (formerly Cingular) due to his deep involvement with the iPhone, says Raj Aggarwal, a former telecommunications consultant who worked with Jobs on the deal.

In an interview with Forbes, Aggarwal details the history behind the deal, which saw Apple receiving a portion (approximately $10) of the monthly service charges that AT&T collected from each iPhone user. The revenue sharing agreement, which ultimately ended in 2008, allowed AT&T to offer the iPhone exclusively as other carriers, like Verizon, were unwilling to agree to the terms of the deal.

Under the terms, Apple also had control over pricing, branding, and distribution, in addition to getting AT&T to create a number of new features for the phone.
Aggarwal, whose Adventis consulting stint with Jobs occurred in "early 2005," said that Jobs was able to pull off the AT&T deal because of his personal involvement in the details of the iPhone, his efforts to build relationships with carriers, his willingness to make demands that others perceived as outrageous, and his nerve to bet major resources on that vision.
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According to Aggarwal, Jobs was hands-on in a way that no other CEO was. He personally met with the CEOs of each carrier, and "got deeply involved in the details he cared about." Jobs, Aggarwal recounts, was willing to take risks to "realize his vision" and made "outrageous" demands that ultimately worked out in Apple's favor.
Aggarwal also found Jobs unique in his outrageous demands. As he explained, "Jobs said, '$50 a month unlimited voice, data, and SMS plan -- that's our mission. We should ask for and go after something unreasonable that no one has been willing to accept.' He would come up with these outrageous demands and fight for them -- getting much more than he otherwise would have."
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AT&T's exclusivity agreement expired in 2010, but the deal Jobs struck with the company earned both AT&T and Apple an enormous amount of money thanks to the iPhone's immediate popularity with customers.

Article Link: Raj Aggarwal Details Jobs' Tenacity in AT&T/Apple Revenue Sharing Deal
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/16/raj-aggarwal-details-jobs-tenacity-in-attapple-revenue-sharing-deal/
That deal was an amazing advantage for AT&T. It makes me wonder if Steve Jobs conceded to AT&T a lot to give them an exclusive deal.
 
just shows you steve's intensity to get what he wanted. i feel like apple has a bunch of wusses running the show; that's probably why their products are so stale now.
 
"Jobs said, '$50 a month unlimited voice, data, and SMS plan -- that's our mission. We should ask for and go after something unreasonable that no one has been willing to accept.' He would come up with these outrageous demands and fight for them -- getting much more than he otherwise would have."
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We will never see things like this from Cook.
 
I still remember waiting in line for the very first one at ATT/Cingular. Coolest thing ever when I finally got my hands on it.
 
Now this is a reason how apple can be doomed without Steve...his involvement and ambition was off the charts!
 
Sad that AT&T could probably offer a $50 unlimited everything plan and remain profitable - but fat chance getting them to do it.
 
boshii said:
We will never see things like this from Cook.
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Well of course we won't. But Cook has been an integral part of Apple since the late '90s. Without Cook you wouldn't have got the production pipelines of products sorted, or have the profit margins that Apple enjoy.

Steve Jobs is irreplaceable, that can't be argued. But IMHO, Cook is the perfect CEO for Apple. Leave the product design to Ive, leave the finance and manufacturing to Cook.
 
boshii said:
We will never see things like this from Cook.
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Tim is a wuss. Apple needs a prick at the helm to succeed against partners that will stab them in the back if given a chance and competitors ready to steal every idea they have.

Business is war people. It is not a charity or a friendly affair. You have to show dominance or everyone will walk all over you and steal your lunch money.

Cook was the perfect COO for doing the logistics stuff but he is not leadership material.
 
I still laugh at the thought that Verizon originally wanted to put their sh***y V-Cast software on it.
 
$10 a month? Well, that explains why iPhone customers never had to pay for software updates in the start. Remember the iPhone OS updates to the iPod Touch that made you pay either $19.99 or $9.99 or eventually $4.99??

Any ways... AT&T made lots of dough... so did Apple.
 
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." --George Bernard Shaw
 
How is it that negotiations about that were still ongoing between Apple and AT&T when Apple and Cingular announced the iPhone before AT&T bought Cingular?

The timeline doesn't fit with reality. What am I missing? That Apple would have renegotiated the deal with AT&T after the Cingular acquisition?
 
MacRumors said:
Aggarwal also found Jobs unique in his outrageous demands. As he explained, "Jobs said, '$50 a month unlimited voice, data, and SMS plan — that's our mission. We should ask for and go after something unreasonable that no one has been willing to accept.' He would come up with these outrageous demands and fight for them — getting much more than he otherwise would have."
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RIP $50 all you can eat :(
 
keysofanxiety said:
Well of course we won't. But Cook has been an integral part of Apple since the late '90s. Without Cook you wouldn't have got the production pipelines of products sorted, or have the profit margins that Apple enjoy.

Steve Jobs is irreplaceable, that can't be argued. But IMHO, Cook is the perfect CEO for Apple. Leave the product design to Ive, leave the finance and manufacturing to Cook.
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Agreed. I recall reading some of side effects of Steve getting intimately involved in the manufacturing side and they certainly weren't all beneficial :) Everyone has their strong points and weak points.
 
boshii said:
We will never see things like this from Cook.
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give it a rest, already... you have no idea how cook operates since youve never been in the same room w/ the man.

stop trying to build this narrative of which you are not involved.
 
Being as involved in the details and hand-to-hand combat as Jobs was is how all CEOs should be earning their paychecks if they are not doing that today. That means they are directly responsible for the outcomes, which in Jobs case was a good thing.
 
I remember queueing up on launch day for the first iPhone exclusive to O2 here in the UK. Everyone I knew made fun of me for buying it and now they all own one. I miss the pre iPhone Apple.
 
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