As Verizon profit falls, president praises iPhone innovation

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  • Reply 81 of 105
    sipsip Posts: 210member
    If I remember correctly, Apple initially approached Verizon with a prototype of the iPhone, and talks broke down because Verizon wouldn't play ball and let Apple either dictate the design and content of software or the revenue-sharing scheme (or both).



    Apple then went off to 2nd choice AT&T and these guys creamed their pants enough to agree Apple's terms. The rest is history.



    Verizon will now play ball because it has lost shed-loads of customers to AT&T over the last three years, so much so that this year, AT&T's customer-base is fast expanding to almost equal Verizons. Three years ago the gap was huge, now, it's negligible.



    If Apple & AT&T retain the iPhone exclusivity deal, AT&T will soon overtake Verizon.



    Also, would Verizon have suffered so badly if jailbroken/unlocked iPhones worked on its network??
  • Reply 82 of 105
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sip View Post


    If I remember correctly, Apple initially approached Verizon with a prototype of the iPhone, and talks broke down because Verizon wouldn't play ball and let Apple either dictate the design and content of software or the revenue-sharing scheme (or both).



    Apple then went off to 2nd choice AT&T and these guys creamed their pants enough to agree Apple's terms. The rest is history.



    Verizon will now play ball because it has lost shed-loads of customers to AT&T over the last three years, so much so that this year, AT&T's customer-base is fast expanding to almost equal Verizons. Three years ago the gap was huge, now, it's negligible.



    If Apple & AT&T retain the iPhone exclusivity deal, AT&T will soon overtake Verizon.



    Also, would Verizon have suffered so badly if jailbroken/unlocked iPhones worked on its network??



    I second that. And true, ATnT is lucky Apple chose it, or it wouldn't be the thriving company it is today IMO.
  • Reply 83 of 105
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sip View Post


    If I remember correctly, Apple initially approached Verizon with a prototype of the iPhone, and talks broke down because Verizon wouldn't play ball and let Apple either dictate the design and content of software or the revenue-sharing scheme (or both).



    Apple then went off to 2nd choice AT&T and these guys creamed their pants enough to agree Apple's terms. The rest is history.



    Verizon will now play ball because it has lost shed-loads of customers to AT&T over the last three years, so much so that this year, AT&T's customer-base is fast expanding to almost equal Verizons. Three years ago the gap was huge, now, it's negligible.



    If Apple & AT&T retain the iPhone exclusivity deal, AT&T will soon overtake Verizon.



    Also, would Verizon have suffered so badly if jailbroken/unlocked iPhones worked on its network??



    No one outside of those talks knows what happened. No one knows what Apple said, and no one knows Verizon's response.



    We have no idea if Apple showed them a prototype or not. I tend to doubt it, as AT&T stated that they went with Apple WITHOUT ever seeing one.



    AT&T was actually the largest provider after the merger with Cingular right before Apple signed with them. It was Allitel's purchase almost two years later that brought Verizon ahead of AT&T. But AT&T is catching up with them, mostly thanks to the iPhone.
  • Reply 84 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    But AT&T is catching up with them, mostly thanks to the iPhone.



    In the last quarter when the new iphone 3GS was launched --- AT&T managed to beat Verizon's net adds by a whopping quarter of a million subscribers in a quarter.



    That's the best case scenario --- so realistically --- AT&T is not really catching up with Verizon.
  • Reply 85 of 105
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    In the last quarter when the new iphone 3GS was launched --- AT&T managed to beat Verizon's net adds by a whopping quarter of a million subscribers in a quarter.



    That's the best case scenario --- so realistically --- AT&T is not really catching up with Verizon.



    Realistically, they are.
  • Reply 86 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Realistically, they are.



    At current rate --- which is based on a very good iphone launch quarter --- it would take AT&T Wireless 8 YEARS to catch up to Verizon Wireless.
  • Reply 87 of 105
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    At current rate --- which is based on a very good iphone launch quarter --- it would take AT&T Wireless 8 YEARS to catch up to Verizon Wireless.



    The duration it would take at current rate is not what was being discussed, but whether Verizon?s lead over AT&T was shrinking. Even if AT&T had only one more net subscriber over Verizion each quarter they would still be catching up and your comments would still be incorrect.
  • Reply 88 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Logisticaldron View Post


    The duration it would take at current rate is not what was being discussed, but whether Verizon?s lead over AT&T was shrinking. Even if AT&T had only one more net subscriber over Verizion each quarter they would still be catching up and your comments would still be incorrect.



    No, that's not what was being discussed.



    What was discussed by melgross was how AT&T was catching up to Verizon because of the iphone (mostly).



    You take out Tracfone's numbers (prepaid subscribers with about $13 a month ARPU) from AT&T's numbers --- aside from the last week's announcement, AT&T had NEVER beaten Verizon in terms of net adds.



    The last quarter was the FIRST quarter EVER that AT&T has beaten Verizon in their retail subscriber net adds since the iphone was launched 2 years ago. And it was a "iphone launch" quarter --- which skewed the data heavily in favor of AT&T.



    AT&T wins the iphone launch quarter but loses the other 3 quarters in the rest of the year.
  • Reply 89 of 105
    It?s funny how you can write this?.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    No, that's not what was being discussed.



    What was discussed by melgross was how AT&T was catching up to Verizon because of the iphone (mostly).



    ? and then write this...

    Quote:

    The last quarter was the FIRST quarter EVER that AT&T has beaten Verizon in their retail subscriber net adds since the iphone was launched 2 years ago. And it was a "iphone launch" quarter --- which skewed the data heavily in favor of AT&T.



    without seeing that eve what you write shows clearly that AT&T gained on Verizon by a quarter million subs last quarter. Amazing how some people?s brains can seemingly function in such a unique way.
  • Reply 90 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Logisticaldron View Post


    It?s funny how you can write this?.



    ? and then write this...



    without seeing that eve what you write shows clearly that AT&T gained on Verizon by a quarter million subs last quarter. Amazing how some people?s brains can seemingly function in such a unique way.



    It's actually a lot smaller than a quarter of a million --- excluding merger-related net adds and Tracfone net adds, AT&T Wireless only had 1.153 million net adds. Verizon --- exclusing merger-related net adds and MVNO net adds, had 1.1 million net adds.



    Imagine that an iphone launch quarter --- gave AT&T a "win" of 53000 net adds.



    Imagine all the other quarters when the iphone is not launched --- winning one quarter and losing the other 3 quarters --- is still losing.
  • Reply 91 of 105
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    It's actually a lot smaller than a quarter of a million --- excluding merger-related net adds and Tracfone net adds, AT&T Wireless only had 1.153 million net adds. Verizon --- exclusing merger-related net adds and MVNO net adds, had 1.1 million net adds.



    Imagine that an iphone launch quarter --- gave AT&T a "win" of 53000 net adds.



    Imagine all the other quarters when the iphone is not launched --- winning one quarter and losing the other 3 quarters --- is still losing.



    Exactly what part of 53000 more equates to moving father away. You can include as many or as few quarters as you wish, but the fact remains that AT&T bested Verizon last quarter and lessened the divide between them. You don?t have to like it, but you do have to accept it. The only lying here is how you wish to interpret these very simple stats.
  • Reply 92 of 105
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Prior to Verizon buying Alltel, AT&T was far ahead in subs. The gap was only growing wider. The only reason Verizon is ahead is because of Alltel.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    Imagine all the other quarters when the iphone is not launched --- winning one quarter and losing the other 3 quarters --- is still losing.



  • Reply 93 of 105
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    At current rate --- which is based on a very good iphone launch quarter --- it would take AT&T Wireless 8 YEARS to catch up to Verizon Wireless.



    Not necessarily. iPhone sales are moving up. Apple will sell a lot more this year in the US then last year. Next year, they will sell a lot more. At some point in the next few years, sales will slow down, unless Apple comes up with something new.



    So AT&T may pick up a million extra subscribers than Verizon. Next year it could be 2 million. The next year, 3 million.
  • Reply 94 of 105
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Logisticaldron View Post


    It?s funny how you can write this?.





    ? and then write this...





    without seeing that eve what you write shows clearly that AT&T gained on Verizon by a quarter million subs last quarter. Amazing how some people?s brains can seemingly function in such a unique way.



    Lol. Mismatching posts.
  • Reply 95 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    Prior to Verizon buying Alltel, AT&T was far ahead in subs. The gap was only growing wider. The only reason Verizon is ahead is because of Alltel.



    No, the gap got narrower after Cingular bought AT&T Wireless. Verizon was winning the market share game after the Cingular/AT&T Wireless merger.
  • Reply 96 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Not necessarily. iPhone sales are moving up. Apple will sell a lot more this year in the US then last year. Next year, they will sell a lot more. At some point in the next few years, sales will slow down, unless Apple comes up with something new.



    So AT&T may pick up a million extra subscribers than Verizon. Next year it could be 2 million. The next year, 3 million.



    You are basing your math --- based on an iphone launch quarter.



    That's like going to shopping mall and just looking at the christmas season shopping traffic. What about the rest of the year.



    After you take out merger related stuff and mvno's like tracfone --- the difference between the 2 carriers on an iphone launch quarter is 53000 subscribers.
  • Reply 97 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Logisticaldron View Post


    Exactly what part of 53000 more equates to moving father away. You can include as many or as few quarters as you wish, but the fact remains that AT&T bested Verizon last quarter and lessened the divide between them. You don?t have to like it, but you do have to accept it. The only lying here is how you wish to interpret these very simple stats.



    At what price is AT&T for this "win" and how durable is the "win".



    You don't have to like it --- but I would rather win the whole war than winning a single battle at any given financial quarter.
  • Reply 98 of 105
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    I'm talking about over the past year prior to Verizon buying Alltel. AT&T merged with Cingular in 2004. These are entirely two different moments in time. Are you willing to disrupt the space/time continuum in attempt to make Verizon look good?





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    No, the gap got narrower after Cingular bought AT&T Wireless. Verizon was winning the market share game after the Cingular/AT&T Wireless merger.



  • Reply 99 of 105
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    I'm talking about over the past year prior to Verizon buying Alltel. AT&T merged with Cingular in 2004. These are entirely two different moments in time. Are you willing to disrupt the space/time continuum in attempt to make Verizon look good?



    I agree with you --- there are 2 different time periods. A 2004-2007 period (post Cingular/AT&T wireless merger but before the iphone was launched) where Verizon beats AT&T, period.



    The second period is the post iphone launch period from 2007 on --- I think AT&T beat Verizon in 4 out of the 8 quarters. But that was all from Tracfone's strong numbers --- really nothing to do with the iphone or AT&T.



    This past quarter is the FIRST quarter since the iphone was launched that AT&T won the numbers game --- all by themselves.
  • Reply 100 of 105
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by samab View Post


    You are basing your math --- based on an iphone launch quarter.



    That's like going to shopping mall and just looking at the christmas season shopping traffic. What about the rest of the year.



    After you take out merger related stuff and mvno's like tracfone --- the difference between the 2 carriers on an iphone launch quarter is 53000 subscribers.



    You number is suspect, because you're assuming that iPhone sales aren't going to grow. also your number is not necessarily correct on its own.
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