Submitted by Bob Bhatnagar on
Rumors have surfaced that AT&T could lose its exclusive deal with Apple to sell the US iPhone as early as this summer. Apple may even announce that the iPhone is destined for additional carriers at their special media event this Wednesday in San Francisco.
Several analysts had predicted that the fourth generation iPhone might move to multiple carriers in summer of 2010. What analysts might not have considered is that AT&T is actually welcoming the change.
Sources have told HotHardware that AT&T is "tired of taking the heat" for poor reception and believes that the iPhone is responsible for tarnishing the company's image. The iPhone allegedly does not switch from 3G to EDGE well and drops calls when 3G connections are lost. AT&T is looking forward to other networks shouldering some of the heavy data demands of iPhone users.
AT&T made the news recently when it announced that it was adding five Android smartphones to its lineup in addition to two devices manufactured by Palm. The company is clearly planning for a day when the iPhone no longer drives the majority of its new subscribers.
It's possible Apple could announce a Verizon iPhone, although this would require fourth generation hardware that supports CDMA networks. The iPhone could easily be offered on the T-Mobile network as the cellular modem wouldn't require any changes.Whether or not Apple announces these changes along with its tablet and iPhone OS 4.0 remains to be seen. Apple has successfully sold iPhones through multiple wireless carriers in other countries already.
Comments
Anonymous replied on Permalink
The CDMA network can not support voice and data at the same time.
The iphone would be limited to one or the other.
While on the internet, your number would be busy.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
that is not true if you are on the internet your number would be busy! what cell phone have you ever called and had a busy tone,
Anonymous replied on Permalink
This rumor is SO ridiculous. I'm so tired of hearing about it
Apple stated yesterday in their quarterly earning conference call that their relationship with AT&T is just fine. The only reason why they deal with multiple carriers in other countries is in situations that exclusivity cannot exist; where it's inevitable that the same phone is sold on different carriers in the same country.
Apple approached T-Mobile first, they turned the iPhone down. AT&T is the only other GSM option in the US, and frankly they are being extremely proactive about fixing the overwhelming stresses on their network, as well as working with Apple to develop new technologies (who had visual voice mail first?)... Apple would never go CDMA, it's a dying technology.