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Sun, Mar 21, 2010 - 09:13 AM EDT — AAPL: 222.2499 (-2.4001, -1.07%) | NASDAQ: 2374.41 (-16.87, -0.71%)

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson ‘very pleased with the Apple iPhone deal’

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 12:06 PM EDT

"Randall Stephenson is just two years into his tenure as CEO of AT&T but faces challenges that have been decades in the making. Among them: remaking AT&T amid the steady decline of its landline business, future-proofing its business as our appetites for bandwidth grow, competing with the likes of Comcastin the cable TV market and fending off the proponents of Net neutrality, who don’t care much for the idea of a two-tiered Internet," John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD.

"Beyond this there is the issue of continuing to build out AT&T’s wireless business, which if not iPhone-dependent, is certainly nursing a hell of a habit. In its fourth-quarter AT&T added 2.1 million wireless subscribers. 1.9 million of them were iPhone accounts. 40 percent of those–about 760,000–were new to AT&T. Astonishing. But AT&T’s exclusive deal to peddle the Apple iPhone in the U.S. expires next year. The company is obviously eager for an extension," Paczkowski reports. "But what is it willing to do to get it?"

At the D7 conference, host Walt Mossberg asked Stephenson if it was "worth it to sign the deal with Apple? How has it worked out? 'It’s worked out terrific. We have no complaints.' He notes that the company incurred dilution, but has benefitted by getting the premiere customer in the space — one with high data usage and low churn. 'I’m very pleased with the deal,'" Paczkowski reports.

Walt asks if the company has suffered from the iPhone’s fixed data charges. It’s not a variable charge. How does that offset the dillution that AT&T has to pay? We made a bet, says Stephenson, that the industry was heading towards smartphones and that was a good bet. Now we’re seeing dramatic uptakes in usage, so pricing model must change. And it will change. The market will dictate that change more than anything else. But right now the economics of the iPhone are very good for us," Paczkowski reports.

Read more in the full interview here.

MacDailyNews Take: He's very pleased with the Apple iPhone deal. Randall;s obviously angling for "Understatement of the Year" honors.

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May 27, 09 - 12:30 pm Comment from: Ottawa Mark

There have been ongoing murmurs about Verizon carrying the iPhone this summer...we'll see how happy AT&T;is at that time..

May 27, 09 - 12:37 pm Comment from: HotinPlaya

If Steve wants a keyboard , he will add one, good answer

May 27, 09 - 12:43 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

ATT: We love the iPhone it helps us get new high-paying customers!

Verizon: Steve Jobs will die eventually! We have an assortment of nearly iPhone-looking hardware, that has a big screen like the iPhone, see?

Spring: Pleeeze don't leave us!! See we got a shiny toy too! See see Pre!!

May 27, 09 - 12:44 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

Ottawa Mark There have been ongoing murmurs about Verizon carrying the iPhone this summer

Those rumors likely planted by Verizon to keep their customers from leaving. Or possibly from Apple to put the screws to ATT to get a better deal.

No chance it will happen tho.

May 27, 09 - 01:05 pm Comment from: BC Kelly

MDN

Nope, sorry

Qualifies for "Understatement of the Decade if not Century"

BC

May 27, 09 - 01:16 pm Comment from: LordRobin

Being a Verizon customer (because my employer offers a discount), I would like nothing more than for Verizon to offer the iPhone. I can't see it happening in a million years, though. The iPhone is anathema to Verizon's business culture, which is "make the customer pay for everything they do". My wife can't even copy a picture off her phone without incurring a data charge.

That's why Verizon turned down the iPhone. A phone that allows users to sync photos and music to a computer, buy music and apps, even browse the web without giving Verizon a cut? They probably laughed in Jobs' face! Verizon doesn't allow anything on their phones unless they get to wet their beaks.

------RM

May 27, 09 - 01:29 pm Comment from: Cubert

"Now we’re seeing dramatic uptakes in usage, so pricing model must change. And it will change."

So, they are going to compete by resorting to the price gauging of the other cell phone companies and cable companies.
Great.

May 27, 09 - 01:36 pm Comment from: strich

Verizon won't be getting an Apple deal. Redesigning the iPhone to work under CDMA is not a price Apple wants to take on with likely little return in the long run.

If Apple's really on the ball, they'll ignore Verizon and focus on hardware for LTE instead, all the while working on software updates to bring the world through to 4G.

May 27, 09 - 02:39 pm Comment from: Davecc

Randall is singing for his supper!

May 27, 09 - 02:47 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

LordRobin's post explains why Verizon rejected the iPhone initially and also why it won't ever get the iPhone.

ATT will be exclusive for a long time I suspect, and if any other carriers in US get it, they won't be Verizon.

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Sun, Mar 21, 2010 - 09:13 AM EDT — AAPL: 222.2499 (-2.4001, -1.07%) | NASDAQ: 2374.41 (-16.87, -0.71%)

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson ‘very pleased with the Apple iPhone deal’

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Sun, Mar 21, 2010 - 09:13 AM EDT — AAPL: 222.2499 (-2.4001, -1.07%) | NASDAQ: 2374.41 (-16.87, -0.71%)

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson ‘very pleased with the Apple iPhone deal’

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