The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s CEO, is in discussion with Apple to extend the lucrative deal to be the exclusive carrier of iPhone in US.
It's speculated that the current deal is expected to expire next year (2010) though reports back in 2007 had suggested that AT&T had cracked an exclusive deal for 5-years.
Wall Street Journal is reporting:
AT&T had added whopping 4.3 million iPhone subscribers in the second half of 2008; of which about 40% were new customers. So if the exclusive deal with Apple is indeed expected to expire next year then I'm not surprised that AT&T is looking to extend it further.
It might not be the best thing for users in the US as it doesn't give them an option to opt for a carrier of their choice that might have better network coverage in their area. Competition would have also helped in lowering the data charges for the iPhone plan which are on the expensive side.
But to be fair to AT&T, they have been constantly improving their network performance and coverage. We recently heard that AT&T is aggressively rolling out a major upgrade to its 3G mobile data services in anticipation of a spike in network traffic from Apple's new iPhone.
AT&T has also started offering free Wi-Fi access to iPhone users across the US at thousands of hotspots nationwide including Starbucks.
So what's your take on AT&T's plan to extend the deal to be the exclusive carrier of iPhone in US ? Are you happy with AT&T? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
[via WSJ]
well i am currently with at&t at the moment so it doesnt bother me I would like the data plan charges to drop to say 15-20 bucks that would be nice
I like AT&T but it would be nice to have my iphone apple-unlocked and not hack-unlocked, but still, either way it's unlocked.
Don't do it, that will be the worst decision ever.
AT&T drops my calls too often. Plus I'd love for ALL of my friends to have an iphone, so I can video chat anyone.
Animal say yum yum!!!
i think it would be a good thing if tmobile or verizon got in on it might drive down the price of phones or services…
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The way i see it, the iPhone will never be Verizon, it would require a new baseband chip, and the whole radio area would have to be redesigned. Apple is too lazy (still i love them but they'll never do it, even if it will make it so many many more ppl buy this phone)
Well, since it's expiring, T-Mobile and possibly Sprint will definitely offer up nice money for this phone. So I don't think Apple will just sign on just yet. They want some offers so that AT&T can up the ante.
But I doubt they will just sell the phone unsubsidized. Honestly, if it weren't for the 199$ price tag, many would not buy it. But, the iPhone plan is simply too high. Blackberry, a very much on par phone, has plans way below the iPhone so I believe that is the only thing that needs to change.