USA Today has an interview with AT&T head Randall Stephenson in which he discusses the success of the iPhone for the wireless carrier. He notes that in the original deal back on 2005 they were "betting on Jobs" -- and it's now clear that that bet paid off: "It's everything we hoped it would be," according to Stephenson.In fact the Apple/AT&T partnership is going so well that AT&T managed to wrangle another year of exclusivity out of Apple, extending its US monopoly on the iPhone at least until 2010. This extension is part of the iPhone 3G deal that eliminated revenue sharing with Apple, but has AT&T paying about $300 per phone up front. The numbers continue to look good for both parties, with the iPhone generating almost twice the revenue as the average AT&T wireless customer. Then again, it's hardly a surprise. It's not like betting on Steve Jobs' tech business savvy is that much a risk these last few years.
[via Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-02-2008 @ 8:06PM
Mikek said...
Guess I won't be getting an iPhone until 2010. AT&T sucks.
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8-02-2008 @ 8:10PM
Luigi193 said...
Ditto
8-03-2008 @ 8:52AM
mjflute said...
Same here.
8-02-2008 @ 8:08PM
jack said...
Obviously, it's a gread deal for att.
What I'd like to know is.....when is the "slightly-bigger-than-the-iphone-but-still-very-portable" apple 'tablet' going to come out, because I held off buying the iphone waiting for it. I need something I can update my yahoo web hosting blog with...as well as check my countless stats and websites....and I was going to get the iphone, but then I heard about this magical mythical thing.
So any new news on it?
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8-03-2008 @ 3:25AM
Vince said...
"When" it will come out? More like "if" it will come out. Any talk of an Apple tablet is just unfounded speculation at this point, there's nothing behind those rumors. I would bet against it.
8-02-2008 @ 8:21PM
Squid7085 said...
Great, so now I get to suffer through another year of At&ts shifty service. More bars in more places my foot. Where might those places be? Either way, I love my iPhone to death, but it is useless without services. That's why I have yet to get the 3G. On the edge of gettng a dare or something, sure it sucks, but if I can make a call without climbing onto the roof,its already better than the iPhone. Apple seriously failed when they picked At&t, this phone deserves so much better.
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8-02-2008 @ 8:44PM
Greg said...
That sucks. No iphone for me till after '010. At&T service at my home is a no go and their customer service is a "0"
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8-02-2008 @ 9:22PM
Rowan Pope said...
Have you jailbroken your phone and tried another carriers sim in there? Just asking, because here in Australia my 1st Gen iPhone had worse coverage than pretty much any other phone I could find. I still lived with it though, because it's an iPhone - it's ok to make some sacrifices along the way. :)
The 3G is much better for me, even with 3G off. I think the plastic back helps.
Best feature? Loud speaker. The original was just horrid.
8-02-2008 @ 8:51PM
AJC said...
Pretty sure this same source said it was a five year deal with at&t. I think they are making this up to get hype
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8-02-2008 @ 9:05PM
Mike said...
I've never had a problem with AT&T. I work at a small liberal arts college in a small Ohio town in the middle of farmland, and I almost always have 4-5 bars. Triangulation is usually spot on & voice quality is great. Beats crappy Alltel and the shitty Motorola phones I suffered with for a few years.
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8-02-2008 @ 9:26PM
Dripps said...
I resent the way AT&T promotes every other phone BUT the iphone. It's never in their ads or promotions and I know 2 people who went in to AT&T asking for iPhone and were talked out of it by AT&T employees. You walk into an AT&T store and you have to search for it....not among the other smart phones on display. They benefit from Apples ads but they are not doing their part.
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8-03-2008 @ 9:35AM
mach2 said...
it's part of the deal that apple takes care of marketing and advertising...that's actually one of the reasons apple went with at&t and not verizon, among other things. verizon didn't want apple to have as much control as they were requesting.
8-02-2008 @ 9:31PM
fastasmonkey said...
I've never had any major problems with att, I live in a medium city population ~300-400 K and always have good reception & 3g. As far as att customer service, i've been through a few "glitches" including when the iphone 1st gen came out, nothing that wasn't completely fixed to my satisfaction. Everytime I call att with an issue, I make sure I'm extremely nice & courteous & guess what? I always get my way, including lots of credits on my bill :) Come on, this is a company that has millions of customers and you threatning to not give them business isn't gonna hurt them much!!
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8-02-2008 @ 10:27PM
Paul said...
So, for those of you who want an iPhone and don't want AT&T ... presumably you're in the US ... you'd prefer to sign up with T-Mobile? There's no other option for GSM. Try getting 3G with T-Mobile.
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8-03-2008 @ 10:06AM
Joel said...
For that reason I think this announement is not significant. T-mobile is still working on getting their 3G network established. It is only available in New York presently.
8-02-2008 @ 10:29PM
Drupa said...
I won't / can't buy this phone until it's off AT&T because of our corporate reimbursement policy - we have to be on Verizon. I'm not going to carry two phones. Maybe someday American consumers will rise up against this ridiculous carrier silo mentality.
That said - Verizon had a shot at the iPhone and they very clearly blew it!
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8-03-2008 @ 5:18AM
Amerist said...
I'm hearing this a lot from current Verizon customers.
If you live in an area that only gets coverage from Verizon your argument is worthless. You're not even a candidate for an iPhone so stop bitching at Verizon for being the only company to put up towers in your vicinity.
If you are an iPhone candidate, rather than punish VZW for their epic failure, you will remain a VZW customer for another 3 years and pay through the nose for the same features at&t offers for less? This makes 0 sense.
I only had a couple months left on my VZW phone so I carried two phones for a while. Not the end of the world, but it was better than paying a $175 ETF. When my contract was up, I even ported my Verizon number over to my iPhone. Now my monthly bill is $20 less for the same services and I get rollover. I currently have a pool of 800+ minutes that I can use if I manage to go over my 450. Verizon never offered that until I cancelled my plan and now they are offering me a pool of 500 bonus minutes that I can use anytime within 6 months if I come back. What a joke. They missed the boat and now it looks like they will have to expand their entire network to work on GSM/HSPA to even be considered as a carrier in 2010
8-03-2008 @ 5:42AM
pentumforever said...
Well then you're most likely out of luck and that for good.
The iPhone is a GSM phone and as far as I know Verizon uses CDMA exclusivly. I doubt either will change 2010.
So the only other carrier you could use would be T-Mobile USA.
8-03-2008 @ 10:27AM
Drupa said...
I live in a major metro area which has ample AT&T and Verizon coverage. I have an all-you-can-eat data plan and can tether my phone to my powerbook for EVDO speeds.
All I am saying is that I am not going to buy an apple phone which forces me to use AT&T. Do your research and you will see that the AT&T plan is no $ bargain and their customer service is consistently rated below the national average. I will keep my blackberry (even if i'd like to have an iphone). The iPhone business model just doesn't work for me.
8-02-2008 @ 11:06PM
Jose said...
This is why I am using a BlackBerry, it's unlocked, I travel all over the world, buy SIMs in different countries and pay local rates, life is good.
There is no reason why Apple should not sell a "carrier free" device.
My .02
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