Verizon CEO Reveals That He Has Asked Apple for iPhone Rights

[bks691]

Everyone that's saying "Apple needs verizon" or "Apple is in it for the dough", Wow. Anyone on verizon that wants/wanted an iPhone has already left verizon for att and the rest will leave later this summer for the new iPhone. Seidenberg had to say something because he's in a world of hurt! He knows what time of the year it is and he's trying to stop the bleeding and keep the rest of his customers from leaving! Att is making a nice stream of income with the iPhone and they will keep the iPhone exclusive to them, you can count on that.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

yes please.

but don't just stop at verizon. make one also for sprint and tmobile.

Well with what I mentioned above - it is not far fetched for Apple to be able to reach out with a World iPhone

The rest is up to our Congress to allow users to buy cellphones and go where we want for a carrier... that got derailed over all the other issues we need to face...

 

[theBB]

In the business world, somethings can be said.... and other things not said. Yeah, maybe Verizon realized they screwed up not working with Apple in the first place. But IMHO Apple went with ATT (over T-Mobile) for the strength of the network. GSM is the global leader in users - while CDMA is mainly a player here in the US market.

Once AT&T accepted a reasonable offer from Apple, I doubt Apple had much interest in Verizon for the reason you mention. It may approached Verizon for leverage during negotiations with AT&T, but I don't know if there was that much of mistake on Verizon's part.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Everyone that's saying "Apple needs verizon" or "Apple is in it for the dough", Wow. Anyone on verizon that wants/wanted an iPhone has already left verizon for att and the rest will leave later this summer for the new iPhone. Seidenberg had to say something because he's in a world of hurt! He knows what time of the year it is and he's trying to stop the bleeding and keep the rest of his customers from leaving! Att is making a nice stream of income with the iPhone and they will keep the iPhone exclusive to them, you can count on that.

Maybe he is looking at these sales numbers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_sales_per_quarter.svg

The more I think about it - it makes sense that Verizon wants on board - in particular with a World iPhone - one that works both on GSM and CDMA. In particular if Verizon is able to get GSM roaming on ATT and/or T-Mobile. They already partner with Sprint - at least on the Sprint side....

The good thing for those three is that they may be able to split band with in the end.

Not sure how it could work - but a World iPhone on the CDMA/GSM network could help ATT and T-Mobile (and Verizon) - if the World iPhone was able to manage the best network to use...

 

[hawkolugy]

have you ever thought that maybe Verizon could be capable of doing voice and data at the same time.. if Verizon had phones that could support it? The iPhone supports it.. and my blackberry doesn't. During those commercials where they advertise those adds... are they using anything but an iPhone???

Yes we thought of it, but the people that actually understand how it works realize that it is completely a network feature, the phone may have to allow it, but god couldn't make a cdma phone for verizon that can talk and consume data at the same time.

And for the people downplaying the importance of this feature either hardly use there device or rarely use the more advanced features and stick to calling and other simple things. Without it, I would not have been able to post this because I am tethered to my iPhone from my iPad over wifi and have received two calls while surfing this thread and posting this reply. Without this feature that would of course not be possible and I know this is a bad example because I am only able to do this because my phone is jailbroken, but regardless I use this feature on just my phone also and would really miss it if it was gone,

And for the guy who said that he is amazed everyday with something new his droid could do...what because the multitouch interfaces is the truly amazing thing and the iPhone has been doing that for a while now and far better still. I know of not one feature that a droid can do that an iPhone can't that is anything near substantial especially if you compare their jailbroken equivalents and I know tons of things only the iPhone can do(better music and video playback, itunes syncing, and the app store) granted those are all proprietary things but that's what makes the iPhone unbeatable is iTunes integration and the app store because it's the software that makes the iphone better not the hardware.

For the people saying apple locks down the iPhone yes they do, and i liberate it through jailbraiking it but I understand that does not make up for it, but if apple wasn't so restrictive we wouldn't have the great phone we have, if you couldn't jailbreak it then It would really bother me but i would still consider it a better phone with better software and much more available content.

Anyway I got way off topic reading this thread and to actually get back on topic...the iPhone going to verizon would probally be a good thing for everybody unless the cost for apple isn't worth it like some people are saying but I find that hard to believe considering the wealth on subscribers...but I don't think it will happen until LTE


I really just wanted to post all this because I like typing so much on my iPad...god I love this thing! And who needs the 3G version when mywi for the iPhone gives you free 3G access from the unlimited plan you already pay for!

 

[og1]

has anyone considered whether or not verizon's network could handle the massive influx of data that would be consumed by a horde of iphone customers switching over? i wonder how well their network would handle it?

i think that is alot of at&t's problem is the huge amount of data that started being consumed immediately when the iphone was launched. just a thought.

 

[hawkolugy]

has anyone considered whether or not verizon's network could handle the massive influx of data that would be consumed by a horde of iphone customers switching over? i wonder how well their network would handle it?

i think that is alot of at&t's problem is the huge amount of data that started being consumed immediately when the iphone was launched. just a thought.

Yes that is almost unanimously considered the cause for AT&Ts data network congestion p problems and many people throughout this thread have considered it as a potential problem for verizon if the iphone was to go there.

 

[yayitsezekiel]

i've been without a phone for 6 months. i'll be there on the first day when the iphone goes to verizon

 

[Viantay]

Yes we thought of it, but the people that actually understand how it works realize that it is completely a network feature, the phone may have to allow it, but god couldn't make a cdma phone for verizon that can talk and consume data at the same time.

Verizon could work around that by doing the following:

IF the iPhone is brought to Verizon and IF 4.0 supports multitasking, COULD Verizon offer an iPhone "Voip data plan"? I mean they already offer VOIP home phones in certain parts of the country. Just like Skype, Verizon could have it's own phone App that uses data. This is technically what the phone function on the current iPhone is anyways, just an App. This would solve the problem of Voice and Data at the same time, because both would be done over the data network. Now I can surf the internet and make a call at the same time and have better coverage. Unlimited voice/data plans are getting cheaper and are starting to become the norm anyways, so minutes aren't an issue anymore. Just offer Data only plans with the "Verizon VOIP APP". Hmmmmm just a thought.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Once AT&T accepted a reasonable offer from Apple, I doubt Apple had much interest in Verizon for the reason you mention. It may approached Verizon for leverage during negotiations with AT&T, but I don't know if there was that much of mistake on Verizon's part.

In looking at your comments - I now see that we may both be right...

Apple is no fool in negotiating...

As of the link I gave it seems there are 42 million iPhones out there. That would not have happened in the span of time not locking in to the GSM model.

Jobs and Verizon are seeing that they both have to work together and form the linchpin to garner a better share of the base. I know many Verizon users that want an iPhone - but they will not switch!

Jobs wants to control the "PDA cellphone" market - and now Verizon wants to be a part of it....

That is why I have hopes on what I have been calling the World iPhone (GSM/CDAMA). Again I find it strange working in the sales world that the Verizon announcement came just two days before the IPhone 4.0 preview. Maybe I am reading too much into it... only time will tell.

I know shortly before the launch of the 1st iPhone - I looked at the World Phone offerings from Sprint - I was traveling a lot, all for pleasure but there was the safety of paying $2 a minute that I could be in touch with loved ones. LOL Had to tell my sister when I went to REK and LON that it was costing me a mint.

To her it was another phone call.. for me it was costing me dearly. ROFL Love my sister, but she is a Negative Nanny that can go on at length - with no real outcome. LOL

She is technically challenged, and I have no temperance in trying to get her in to skype And not sure on a vacation - I want to spend a hour or two on skype ROFL

 

[David29]

Forgive me if this is slightly OT, but one of the secondary reasons I don't want an iPhone until it's a Verizon iPhone is that I remember my former girlfriend's AT&T phone having awful sound quality; is that also a NYC Manhattan phenomenon; AT&T restricting bandwidth to get more calls/cell tower, or do Verizon calls simply sound better than AT&T's everywhere?

That is my experience. I hate talking to people on AT&T. Frankly, whenever I talk to any of my friends on their iPhones it sounds awful. I am hoping that the problem is AT&T and not the iPhone.

In my experience there IS quite a difference, but I am really sensitive to audio quality. I tried bluetooth headsets for years and only a year ago did I find one that I thought sounded acceptable.

When I talk to most people on iPhones, they end up sounding like a crappy low-bitrate MP3. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but that's my experience.

I REALLY want an iPhone, but there is NO way I will use AT&T as my provider. Period.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

The market for CDMA handsets is shrinking fast, so Apple would be doing a massive favour (and increasing their own costs hugely) to do a CDMA phone just for Verizon

Verizon uses the CDMA technology which is not widely deployed beyond the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

I was under the impression that the #2 mobile carrier in China ran a CDMA network. If that's the case, Apple could be adding 100's of millions of new customers by introducing a CDMA phone.

 

[FelixDerKater]

I'll be on the Verizon network as soon as they announce they are carrying the iPhone. On the way to work today, in a fully 3g-covered metro area, I had a call fail seven times. Today was especially bad, as I usually only have one or two failed calls each day.

I walk into the Apple Store, they plug in the phone for diagnostics and the representative usually says the same thing each time, "Wow! You have a lot of dropped calls and you battery life sucks. Wait here, and we'll get you a replacement phone!"

After six replacements, I have given up. I don't know who should be blamed... My Samsung phone (also AT&T) has never dropped a call anywhere in the area. It seems like less of a problem with the AT&T network than Apple's ability to interface with it.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

That is my experience. I hate talking to people on AT&T. Frankly, whenever I talk to any of my friends on their iPhones it sounds awful. I am hoping that the problem is AT&T and not the iPhone.

In my experience there IS quite a difference, but I am really sensitive to audio quality. I tried bluetooth headsets for years and only a year ago did I find one that I thought sounded acceptable.

When I talk to most people on iPhones, they end up sounding like a crappy low-bitrate MP3. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but that's my experience.

I REALLY want an iPhone, but there is NO way I will use AT&T as my provider. Period.

Sound quality never sounded different to me since the 1st iPhone....

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I was under the impression that the #2 mobile carrier in China ran a CDMA network. If that's the case, Apple could be adding 100's of millions of new customers by introducing a CDMA phone.

Too lazy to look at numbers here this late... but seems GSM is the choice there based on this link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators

 

[aristotle]

Verizon has a number of world phones with CDMA *and* GSM. Why do you assume that Apple would not use one of the world-band radios?

Uh, yeah. GSM/HSPA "is" what the world uses. CDMA is what some "American" carriers use. Even the Asian CDMA carriers have been moving towards HSPA. But again, your so-called "world" phone will not work on CDMA networks in Asia because they do not use CDMA2000 which is what Verizon and Sprint use. Most "world" phones will still not work in every GSM country because they are not likely to be a quad-band phone. The iPhone is quad band GSM and tri-band UMTS/HSPA so an iPhone from any other country will roam in Japan on Softbank.

 

[masse]

Just get an iPod Touch and deal with it.

On the other hand, I'm happy on AT&T and have no plans of leaving.

Your comment is ridiculous.


I'm going to use bullet points to sum my thoughts on the matter:

- Verizon has a more reliable network than AT&T.
- People care more about reliable coverage than talking and surfing the web at same time.
- Apple will release a VZW iPhone because Apple likes $. There are other CDMA carriers in the world also.

 

[yamaha106]

That is my experience. I hate talking to people on AT&T. Frankly, whenever I talk to any of my friends on their iPhones it sounds awful. I am hoping that the problem is AT&T and not the iPhone.

In my experience there IS quite a difference, but I am really sensitive to audio quality. I tried bluetooth headsets for years and only a year ago did I find one that I thought sounded acceptable.

When I talk to most people on iPhones, they end up sounding like a crappy low-bitrate MP3. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but that's my experience.

I REALLY want an iPhone, but there is NO way I will use AT&T as my provider. Period.

i feel the same exact way. glad someone agrees with me..

 

[aristotle]

By the time that happens Verizon may very well be on their way to the largest 4G LTE network, leaving AT&T behind in the dust once again.

LOL. Yeah right. How many years have we been hearing about LTE from Verizon? The first "LTE" handsets coming out from Verizon will not be LTE at all but rather CDMA + LTE for 4G data. They will not work on any other network in the world locked or unlocked.

They are lying to you and you believe every word. There is no such thing as an LTE phone because there is no ratified standard for voice on LTE yet.

 

[Colton534]

A Few of my personal opinions on the matter...

Billions will be invested by AT&T this year for the overhauling of its 3G network. iPhone zones like New York and San Francisco are the main targets of this overhaul but other large cities will be affected as well with over 400,000 more square miles of 3G coverage.
While Verizon's 3G network does cover a larger area in terms of square miles, AT&T's network is built to traffic MUCH larger amounts of data.

If the iPhone is added to the Verizon network, expect incredible delays. As the U.S.'s largest cell provider there will simply be to much data being transferred for Verizon's large, but thin network to handle.
Verizon's CEO told reporters, Apple wouldn't likely want to bring the iPhone to the company until its 4G network was in place; Verizon is still relatively early in the development of its 4G network. they don't expect to reach even a 66-percent coverage level in America until sometime in 2012. AT&T announced Monday its next-generation 4G network will be commercially available in 2011 Introducing LTE, which is more than five times faster than HSPA+

Now if you live in a smaller town where Verizon get's more/better service than AT&T, then obviously you should go with Verizon. BUT, i think that the facts are clear that for larger cities, AT&T is the clear choice.

 

[Colton534]

By the time that happens Verizon may very well be on their way to the largest 4G LTE network, leaving AT&T behind in the dust once again.

i don't mean to be rude but, Where are you getting your facts? AT&T's 4G network is to be up and running as early as next year. while Verizon's CEO stated that his wouldn't even cover 66% of the U.S. until late 2012...

 

[MorphingDragon]

Well with what I mentioned above - it is not far fetched for Apple to be able to reach out with a World iPhone

Apple already has a Worldwide iPhone. Most if not all countries have a GSM or UTMS provider. Only a few companies use CDMA now, even then... They have plans to replace it or are in the process or upgrading to WCDMA.

EDIT: 212 out of 216 countries have a GSM/UTMS/WCDMA provider.

 

[Zc456]

Verzion must be desperate if they really want to iPhone. That's saying something.

 

[hawkolugy]

Yes we thought of it, but the people that actually understand how it works realize that it is completely a network feature, the phone may have to allow it, but god couldn't make a cdma phone for verizon that can talk and consume data at the same time.

Verizon could work around that by doing:

IF the iPhone is brought to Verizon and IF 4.0 supports multitasking, COULD Verizon offer an iPhone "Voip data plan"? I mean they already offer VOIP home phones in certain parts of the country. Just like Skype, Verizon could have it's own phone App that uses data. This is technically what the phone function on the current iPhone is anyways, just an App. This would solve the problem of Voice and Data at the same time, because both would be done over the data network. Now I can surf the internet and make a call at the same time and have better coverage. Unlimited voice/data plans are getting cheaper and are starting to become the norm anyways, so minutes aren't an issue anymore. Just offer Data only plans with the "Verizon VOIP APP". Hmmmmm just a thought.

Wow that is so far from the realm of possibility that I really think it's more likely apple would go for vcast on the iPhone instead of the AppStore than verizon releasing a phone like that...verizon is a voice provider first and data second and the call quality would not be high or consistent enough and running everything including the massive amount of voice calls through the network would really overload it with all the influx of iPhone buyers but nice try...actually was pretty clever work around but not gonna happen

 

[inkswamp]

I'm starting to view Apple's insistence on staying strictly with AT&T in the US as similar to what they're doing with Flash on the iPhone/iPad OS.

With Flash, they're sticking to their guns to force sites away from what they view as a crappy piece of technology (and that's an opinion with which I heartily agree. Flash needs to die. Now. And I've believed that long before the iPhone came along.) Prior to the iPhone, people were starting to settle in to this weird attitude that Flash was a de facto part of the web.

Likewise, I think Apple is on a bit of a quiet crusade to put the carriers in their place. After years and years of dominating the market and treating the hardware and software makers like second class citizens, I think Apple is trying to turn tables on them. So far Apple has shown that the big selling point is the hardware and OS, not the network. Now they're trying to make the point that the service provider is almost irrelevant. The question isn't why wouldn't Apple want to be on Verizon also. The question is why bother. They're already on AT&T and when it comes right down to it, all these guys are just pipes so why does it matter if they're not on Verizon too?

Might be a bad business strategy but it seems like someone's trying to make a point by intentionally avoiding the other carriers.