approval from:
hottboiinnc 
| Apple will Stay with AT&T until LTE is Widespread Apple almost has no choice but to stick with AT&T, until LTE is a widely deployed technology. Apple takes advantage of scale manufacturing, and since GSM is the standard worldwide, their only other option in the U.S. is T-Mobile.
Verizon will have some LTE deployed when the current exclusivity deal runs out; but it will be limited here, and LTE will be limited globally. |
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 en102Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Yes - I agree 100%. Until Apple has an LTE based chipset to deploy (HSPA/LTE, CDMA/LTE) then Apple will just keep on with GSM/HSPA chipsets. Why? Because of the global GSM/HSPA customer base. GSM globally is hitting 4 billion subscribers globally and growing at 500 million/year, while CDMA2000 (1x/EVDO) is at 500 million and not really growing at all.
Apple would be wise to keep on the GSM/HSPA/LTE path. I might suspect that VZW may be able to obtain an iPhone just for use on LTE only when it becomes available, if CDMA 1x/EVDO/LTE chipsets/manufacturing is beyond what Apple wants to pay for. |
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| reply to Howard Beale
I suspect this is correct.
As I mentioned in a thread sometime ago, LTE data cards won't be available until mid 2010. And LTE-enabled handsets won't be available until 2011 at the earliest, 2012 more likely.
So Apple will probably stick with AT&T, for all its problems, until 2011/2012 or thereabouts, and then have an LTE-based iPhone that supports more carriers. Hopefully they use a chipset/antenna that supports all major technologies and bands. |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
kudos:1 | reply to Howard Beale
said by Howard Beale :
Apple almost has no choice but to stick with AT&T, until LTE is a widely deployed technology. Apple takes advantage of scale manufacturing, and since GSM is the standard worldwide, their only other option in the U.S. is T-Mobile.
And with TM iPhone would have much less customers due to poor coverage. TM has 33 million, ATT has 80 million, cell customers. TM claims 238 million covered in 2006. 282 million for ATT »www.dbrs.com/issuer/6374/at-t-mo···y-ii-llc . The 282 million probably doesn't include ATT Centennial or ATT Alltel customers. Unless TM USA goes on a massive building spree, it won't match ATT anytime soon. Plus an iPhone for TM USA would be a custom build anyways because of TM USA's AWS/1700 3G. |
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