Summary
1. There is an alternative possibility regarding all of the chatting about Verizon getting together with Apple on the iPhone. 2. It is plausible that Apple is using Verizon to get AT&T to go even faster on finishing its 3G network. 3. Apple also has to worry about its long-term credibility in not sticking to the original agreement.
Analysis
The relationship between Apple and AT&T has been an unqualified success. The iPhone’s uniqueness means the phone stands on its own – “the iPhone has inspired a sense of childlike wonder in many a wireless consumer.” And in order to use it in the US, one has to go to AT&T.
That people are giving up on the iPhone because of lack of coverage appears to be more anecdotal in nature, especially with tech geeks loving to brag how they continuously add and drop products. Certainly, if AT&T does not continue to build out its 3G network rapidly, there could be a real problem.
But the service provider had almost two million iPhone activations in its last quarter – so any negative word of mouth is probably minimal. Any new CDMA chip on the iPhone could be used for phones in other parts of the world. There are over 300 million CDMA subscribers outside of North America.
