Apple & AT&T's Exclusive iPhone Deal May End in 2010
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) could be ending its exclusive iPhone agreement with
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) within a year, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
Munster said a non-exclusive deal would be far more lucrative for Apple because it opens up the device to a larger potential audience who will not or cannot switch to AT&T. The analyst said Apple went from an exclusive deal in France to a multi-carrier agreement and it now has a dramatically higher market share there than in markets where it is tied to one mobile operator.
"We expect Apple to add new iPhone carriers in the United States within the next year (likely with a new product launch next summer)," Munster wrote in a research note to clients.
To continue reading, see the full story at InformationWeek.com.
— Marin Perez, InformationWeek
Munster said a non-exclusive deal would be far more lucrative for Apple because it opens up the device to a larger potential audience who will not or cannot switch to AT&T. The analyst said Apple went from an exclusive deal in France to a multi-carrier agreement and it now has a dramatically higher market share there than in markets where it is tied to one mobile operator.
"We expect Apple to add new iPhone carriers in the United States within the next year (likely with a new product launch next summer)," Munster wrote in a research note to clients.
To continue reading, see the full story at InformationWeek.com.
— Marin Perez, InformationWeek
joset01
12/5/2012 | 3:57:25 PM
re: Apple & AT&T's Exclusive iPhone Deal May End in 2010
I think people might be disapointed if/when this happens. Verizon has already said that it is unlikely that Apple will do a CDMA phone. Therefore that leaves T-Mobile as the other US carrier option.
Hooray, We're no longer captive of AT&T. (That said, AT&T did contribute big CAPEX and spectrum to the deal. So they needed to recover that.)
Apple grows market share, which is always a good thing.
iPhone App developers also benefit from a larger market.