Apple extends AT&T exclusivity to 2010

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]
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