Apple's exclusive deal with AT&T to offer the iPhone may end within the year, according to a prediction from financial analyst Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray.
If Munster is correct, opening up the iPhone to other carriers in the U.S. could be a boon for Apple, which would likely see iPhone sales go through the roof. On the flipside, if this prediction were to come true, it would likely mean very bad news for AT&T, which has relied heavily on the iPhone to boost its own wireless sales and revenue.
Munster noted recently in his published research that Apple has been moving away from exclusive deals in other countries, according to AppleInsider. Specifically, in France the company ended an exclusive deal with Orange and opened up the device to multiple carriers. Munster said the change pushed the iPhone's market share upward to about 40 percent in France. In the U.S., where the iPhone is exclusively offered through AT&T, the iPhone has a market share in the teens.
There are several other countries where Apple has a multi-carrier model. In fact, its most recent deal with China Unicom to bring the iPhone to China is also not exclusive. Apple declined to discuss which carriers it might be in talks with, but analyst firms such as Piper Jaffray expect Apple to sell more than 3 million iPhone units in China next year.
Details of Apple's relationship with AT&T have never been made public. But many people have speculated that the exclusivity contract with AT&T would last at most five years from when the first iPhone hit the market in 2007. This would mean that AT&T would have exclusive rights to the iPhone until around 2012.
There have been reports more recently that AT&T has continued its negotiations with Apple to keep the iPhone exclusive through at least 2011.
Still, rumors have circulated that Verizon Wireless is also talking to Apple about getting the iPhone on its network. Verizon executives have hinted that some kind of Apple device will likely operate on its new 4G wireless network, which is expected to launch commercially next year. But what's been less clear is whether or not a 3G iPhone will operate over Verizon's network.
Verizon Wireless is currently the largest wireless operator in the country. And it has consistently won accolades for solid performance on its network. But because its current 3G wireless network is based on CDMA technology rather than GSM, which is what AT&T and most other carriers around the world use, offering the device on Verizon's network would require an additional radio to be added to the device.
The rest of this article can be found on CNN.
Web Full Circle is pointing this out because with the potential for multiple carriers to carry the iPhone more people will feed into the “App” craze and lead to more mobile marketing. Let’s just say that this is a friendly heads up for your future marketing efforts.
