Verizon eyes future iPhones
4G possibility
Ensure Ease of Recovery with Asigra’s Agentless Software
Don't expect the largest mobile telecom carrier in the US to add the iPhone to its stable of smartphones - at least until the next generation of wireless-broadband technology comes of age.
Verizon's chairman and chief executive Ivan Seidenberg has told The Wall Street Journal it's unlikely that Apple would ever build an iPhone for the Verizon Wireless CDMA network - despite whisperings late last year that it would.
However, Seidenberg did offer the opinion that it was entirely possible that Apple and Verizon might work together when the telecom giant rolled out its 4G network, based on the same 4G technology, LTE, that AT&T is committed to.
After all, Verizon promises to blanket the entire United States with LTE service - no small market for Apple to want a piece of.
Verizon's 4G hopes might also extend to any future LTE-based Apple tablet or netbook - although, of course, such a device is still only in the rumor stage (even though Steve Jobs is reported to be fiddling away with one as we speak).
Verizon's future iPhone hopes might be fueled by regret. Back when the iPhone was still just a glimmer in Steve Jobs' eye, the company was offered the chance to be its sole carrier - and turned it down.
As they say, hindsight is always 20/20.
Since then, the überpopular smartphone has boosted AT&T's profits markedly - despite its rocky roll-out. And now AT&T is seeking to extend its iPhone exclusivity until 2011.
Perhaps they feel the hot breath of their larger competitor, Verizon, on their neck.
Or perhaps both carriers are begining to position themselves for the day when all mobile hardware - smartphones, laptops, netbooks, tablets, handhelds, MIDs - will be sold not as standalone devices but as hardware/service bundles.
After all, wireless broadband is the future (insert "Duh..."), and what better way for telecoms to control all access to it - as they now do smartphones - other than subsidizing the hardware with users paying through the nose on long-term contracts.
In our current 3G world, such bundles for hardware other than smartphones are offered as conveniences. In a 4G world, they may be the only game in town.
And Verizon and AT&T may eventually find themselves as suitors to Apple when it comes time to introduce Cupertino's first 4G iPhone. Or netbook. Or tablet. Or something we haven't even thought of yet. ®
COMMENTS
3G is perfectly fast
It's fast for mobile devices. The biggest issue is not speed it is coverage. I get decent 3G connectivity only when i'm in a city or town centre.
You've got that bundling trend wrong
Actually the trend is AWAY from bundling hardware and services - Verizon announced this at least a year ago.
When everyone's network is running some variant of GSM or LTE, holding customers hostage on a network that is technically perfectly compatible with everyone else's is going to be a failed strategy - customers have wised-up to that game now.
Verizon is simply being pragmatic by moving to LTE - they are the last, largest CDMA carrier and the lack of device choice (HW vendors are loathe to commit resources to a technology that has ever-decreasing marketshare) has already had a substantial negative impact on Verizon. Best to just chin up, join the opposition and then tout your new-found religion of "open networks!!"...
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Data control in the cloud
