Andre Yoskowitz
25 Jul 2009 0:27
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has made it clear that he knows the popular Apple iPhone and all its iterations will not remain exclusive with the carrier forever, as eventually subscriber base will saturate and Apple will have trouble selling new phones and picking up more market share.
The iPhone has been huge for AT&T, which has attracted new subscribers away from rival carriers and in the Q2 2009 alone added 1.2 million new subscribers, 67 percent of which signed up to buy an iPhone 3G or 3GS.
The mobile device remains exclusive to the carrier however, despite heavy rumors that Apple will eventually sign a deal with CDMA-using Verizon. (AT&T uses GSM and Sim Cards).
"On balance, I think it works really, really well -- maybe as well as any strategic partnership we have," Stephenson added of the exclusivity deal with Apple, via IW.
Let's see for how much longer.