Verizon Seeking to Shut Out T-Mobile and Sprint From iPhone in U.S.?

[Amazing Iceman]

Hummm.... I've been with AT&T for a long time and Verzion too... quite honestly, I've always had a great experience with AT&T people... not so much with Verizon. In fact Verzion DSL people are all but worthless. They don't listen and only know their script. I had to tell one "tech" on the MacOS support line 10 times if not more..... "I don't have a Start Menu... I'm on a Macintosh" and his response was... "Okay Mr. X, Go to your Start Menu and select....". UGH!

None of them are perfect is all I'm saying.

Same with AT&T Fast Access DSL, and cell service: terrible service.

Even when I wanted to activate my iPad 3G, it was a pain to get someone who actually knew how to activate the service. I was transferred several times to other departments, until I got Apple involved and they found the right contact to speak to.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, great service. In several occasions, I had to unlock my smart phones because I had to travel out of the country, and T-Mobile did it for me quickly and free.
Good luck on getting AT&T or Verizon unlock your phone so you could take them on your trip and use a local SIM card and service to make calls.

 

[BJMRamage]

For this reason alone I hope Apple takes iPhone to ATT, Tmobile, Sprint and any other US carrier EXCEPT for Verizon.

Then see what Verizon does. Sure people would jump ship from Verizon. And who cares if verizon stops the iPad double-sell.

 

[Sonny1]

Verizon + iPhone = totalitarian regime

I use Verizon. I don't have a smart phone (don't need it).
But, if this alleged deal works out, the Verizon/Apple regime will have a strangle-hold on Verizon/iPhone users in terms of apps, Verizon locks and prices. The pair would have reason to go for the highest profits possible, with users perhaps downgraded to oarsmen on the lower level of the trireme.
Not anything to look forward to, if it's in the works at all.

 

[islesguy81]

i should be available on all carriers i'd rather pay sprints 70 buck everything plan then 100 bucks on AT&T

 

[zorinlynx]

What I don't understand is WHY Apple doesn't sell unlocked iPhones in the US.

AT&T no longer shares revenue with Apple from iPhone plans, so that can't be the angle.

Apple gets paid regardless of what carrier you use the iPhone on. Since this is the case, why don't they sell unlocked iPhones? Heck, they could even charge a bit of extra money for them and they'd STILL sell in droves to people who don't want to be tied down. (face it: baseband unlocks are unreliable and tie you down to a specific software version. Most people,including myself, don't want to deal with this)

So WHY is Apple so stubborn about this?

 

[shartypants]

I can believe it. But I really wish Apple would just open up to all carriers, let everyone enjoy the wonder of the iPhone.

 

[alywa]

I use Verizon. I don't have a smart phone (don't need it).
But, if this alleged deal works out, the Verizon/Apple regime will have a strangle-hold on Verizon/iPhone users in terms of apps, Verizon locks and prices. The pair would have reason to go for the highest profits possible, with users perhaps downgraded to oarsmen on the lower level of the trireme.
Not anything to look forward to, if it's in the works at all.

I too have Verizon, after recently having to dump AT&T (and my iPhone) due to deterioration of the network in our area. I hear what you are saying about Verizon's control over its customers, but I'm under the impression that that attitude is what led apple to go with AT&T in the first place. One would have to imagine that a compromise between Verizon and Apple has been reached, where Apple will get to control the stores (app, music, book, etc), possibly in exchange for a lower share of the revenue than they got with AT&T. I just can't imagine Jobs and Co. would allow Verizon to crap up their creation (the way they crap up the Android phones with bloatware, VZ cast, etc).

 

[bradl]

The customer looses again. Where are the antitrust regulations that prevent monopolies that hurt consumers?

Standardize on a single network, and you won't have that issue anymore. Honestly, Europe had been completely GSM for over 10 years, and this hasn't been a problem for them. Buy your phone in the Netherlands, use it in Switzerland. New sim card, no problem.

US? no. TDMA, CDMA, GSM, etc. New carrier? new phone from that carrier. So there has never been an even playing field because the carriers ran their own network. So don't blame the phone maker; blame the carrier for having their own network. They are the crux of your matter. That's one reason why ATT got the phone; interoperability with your phone on other GSM networks.

BL.

 

[KaneBaker]

Just go to Canada and buy an unlocked phone at the apple store. That is the way it should work everywhere.

 

[kdarling]

LOL, BEST COMMENT SO FAR.
I could bet the guy who rejected the iPhone deal initially either got fired or got badly demoted.

You mean Dennis Strigl? He got promoted from head of Wireless, to President of all of Verizon - wireless, landline and business. Now he's retired.

Overall, it turned out to be an okay decision, if you think about it.

Verizon ended up backing Android, which is on track to become the dominant mobile OS worldwide.

Verizon didn't have to give Apple anything. They also kept their network reputation intact, unlike ATT.

 

[NoExpectations]

The best phone is coming out on the best network...

iPhone 4G with Verizon's LTE(4G) network!!!

I'm saying June of '11...

Not really. The minute you drive away from their very small 4G LTE footprint is the minute that you fall back to their slow, featureless CDMA network. You will drop your phone call or your internet access. And then when you step back into the 4G LTE footprint, you will remain on CDMA until you reconnect.

At least with AT&T you fall back onto a 21mbs network (HSPA+), which by the way is faster than Verizon's 4G LTE!

 

[silentnite]

Not so fast Verizon, first off apple isn't crazy... anymore. I think they see the big picture. If not let's see what our Government thinks about that, I'm sure there's an agency for that (FCC)

 

[carlgo]

It will be interesting to see if Apple sells out to the highest bidder or choses to promote competition to lower rates and make the iPhone more attractive to more users.

 

[carlgo]

Not so fast Verizon, first off apple isn't crazy... anymore. I think they see the big picture. If not let's see what our Government thinks about that, I'm sure there's an agency for that (FCC)

The GOP has promised to investigate climate scientists, not corporate crooks.

 

[jav6454]

You mean Dennis Strigl? He got promoted from head of Wireless, to President of all of Verizon - wireless, landline and business. Now he's retired.

Overall, it turned out to be an okay decision, if you think about it.

Verizon ended up backing Android, which is on track to become the dominant mobile OS worldwide.

Verizon didn't have to give Apple anything. They also kept their network reputation intact, unlike ATT.

And look at the price they paid... AT&T has the fastest network in the US and network problems are well documented to be on the congestion of the network rather than poor implementation. Same problems other carriers in other countries had when the iPhone was exclusive. O2-UK comes to mind.

The same can not be said about Verizon.

 

[rumz]

Apple probably wouldn't even want to offer the iphone on sprint or tmobile given the chance. I just don't see either of those two networks being able to support the user experience that Apple would demand of their carrier. So technically, VZW would be paying for something that's totally unnecessary.

You know, I kinda see your point... and that seems like part of why Apple played the exclusive game with AT&T in the first place, to ensure there was backend support for their software / devices... but those days are long gone with how many different carriers the iPhone is available on world-wide.

I just don't buy that reason because you already have enough disgruntled AT&T users. There's just no way to guarantee quality of service in every possible location on a given carrier. Like others said-- you need to choose your carrier, then a phone. It'd be dumb to choose a carrier that doesn't have good service in your area.

If this actually were to come true... I'd stop even flirting with the idea of an iPhone. It's a great device with great software, but not enough so to get me to change carriers and pay more on my monthly bill.

 

[bergmef]

For this reason alone I hope Apple takes iPhone to ATT, Tmobile, Sprint and any other US carrier EXCEPT for Verizon.

Then see what Verizon does. Sure people would jump ship from Verizon. And who cares if verizon stops the iPad double-sell.

But isn't this the same thing ATT did? All it is is an exclusive agreement. I personally want the iphone everywhere, but do you hate ATT this much because they have been doing for 4 years what someone said verizon would like to do also? That would mean no ATT or verizon now.

 

[Bubba Satori]

What I don't understand is WHY Apple doesn't sell unlocked iPhones in the US.

AT&T no longer shares revenue with Apple from iPhone plans, so that can't be the angle.

Apple gets paid regardless of what carrier you use the iPhone on. Since this is the case, why don't they sell unlocked iPhones? Heck, they could even charge a bit of extra money for them and they'd STILL sell in droves to people who don't want to be tied down. (face it: baseband unlocks are unreliable and tie you down to a specific software version. Most people,including myself, don't want to deal with this)

So WHY is Apple so stubborn about this?

Because it's in their best interest.

 

[Richard1028]

The customer looses again. Where are the antitrust regulations that prevent monopolies that hurt consumers?

How is this hurting you? A freaking iPhone is not something you need to function in every day life. (Although some macheads I do indeed wonder about).

Buy something else.

 

[swissmann]

I hope this isn't true. I'm a Tmobile user and service has been great and prices are great too. I was looking forward to an iPhone. I'm not jumping ship unless Verizon drops prices a lot.

 

[NKT]

At least with AT&T you fall back onto a 21mbs network (HSPA+), which by the way is faster than Verizon's 4G LTE!

Ummm, no.

 

[kdarling]

I just can't imagine Jobs and Co. would allow Verizon to crap up their creation (the way they crap up the Android phones with bloatware, VZ cast, etc).

Anyone with an Android phone knows that having a couple of extra apps in the total list isn't a problem. Unlike iOS, you don't have to also have them on a homescreen.

That said, it does seem unlikely that Apple would allow any Verizon apps to be included as stock. I'd not be surprised if it had a special App Store though, with a Verizon section, like they do with their Android Market app.

Not really. The minute you drive away from their very small 4G LTE footprint is the minute that you fall back to their slow, featureless CDMA network.

No different than when the iPhone 3G came out, with just about the same amount of coverage on ATT 3G back then, as Verizon has on LTE now.

At least Verizon has 3G virtually everywhere they have towers, unlike ATT, where too many people still use EDGE.

And look at the price they paid... AT&T has the fastest network in the US and network problems are well documented to be on the congestion of the network rather than poor implementation.

While congestion didn't help, ATT itself has said that their original 3G network planning tools were goofed up and caused a lot of their problems. That's because they first deployed with GSM TDMA and have had to install more towers to support WCDMA-3G. Verizon has always been CDMA based and didn't have the same problem upgrading to 3G.

 

[bergmef]

Not really. The minute you drive away from their very small 4G LTE footprint is the minute that you fall back to their slow, featureless CDMA network. You will drop your phone call or your internet access. And then when you step back into the 4G LTE footprint, you will remain on CDMA until you reconnect.

At least with AT&T you fall back onto a 21mbs network (HSPA+), which by the way is faster than Verizon's 4G LTE!

I don't get an ATT signal at home or here at work. How does the fallback work? And CDMA isn't featureless, it's up to the handset people to implement the features.

 

[7o7munoz7o7]

Worldwide, the iPhone is already available on multiple carriers, its only the states ( and a handful of other countries ) that Apple chooses to maintain the 1 carrier monopoly.

Android is in fact accelerating faster pace than iPhone according to latest statistics.

Of course android would be accelerating faster....they have tons of handsets running android...and most of them are buy one get one free....thats two for one on most of the phones with multiple handsets on multiple carriers...its a no brainer that they would start to get so many units out there.

 

[fdot]

a better graphic for you to use

a better graphic for you to use
if anyone decides to use it just give me credit

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