Apple to become a wireless carrier?

Forbes.com has a little speculative piece today about how it's possible that Apple might take the plunge and create its own Apple-branded cellphone service like the one Disney announced earlier this week, but according to one of our reliable sources, Apple is actually already working on this. It's not clear how close they are to doing this (from what we've heard, it's far from a done deal) or how their becoming a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, or MVNO, might fit in with what are supposedly Cingular's plans to be the first carrier to offer an  iTunes-capable cellphone, but there are plenty of reasons why Apple might explore this route. First off, setting up their own wireless service would give them more of a direct relationship with the consumer and more control over the end-user experience (something we all know Stevie J. is partial to). Also, by going the MVNO route, Apple wouldn't have to deal any real reluctance on the part of wireless carriers when it comes to adding an iTunes phone to their line up (the carriers are worried that a musicphone that syncs with a PC will eat into any potential profits from the wireless music download services they're planning themselves). We know more than a few Apple freaks who would sign up for a Apple cellphone service in a second, but there are still a lot of unknowns here, like which carrier Apple would be leasing network capacity from, how much they'd charge for service, whether they'd be able to offer high-speed 3G data, etc.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I hate MVNO! Its not competition, its just rebranding.

[Aaron @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I wonder how many drones would dive into this headfirst. Not that Apple makes bad products by any stretch, it would just be somthing people would get for the sheer fact that it is an iCellphone. OMG!!!

[Lars Groeger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

check the The apple domain iphone.org

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Maybe T-Mobile as they were / might be looking at acquisitions and they are GSM as well... hence a potential for going worldwide with the service. Another round in the fight against MS (with MS phones).

[Spiral Stairs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

They'll probably charge $.99 per call.

[Lars Groeger @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Ha ! nice spiral Stairs....

But indeed they simply would repeat their ipod strategy: bring out a nice piece of hardware, make it part of street lifestyle, and offer an adequat service including video and music download.

Maybe they only sell the apple iphone only to those who contract to the apple provider service.

Hmm but one thing is for sure Engadget .... this : http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000887049175/ is not THE Apple IPHONE !!

!

[phlavor @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

While I think this is far fetched, Steve has often said that PDAs are dead and that cellphones have replaced them. Given how his frustration with MP3 players spawned the industry leading iPod, this could be a Good Thing (tm). I think the cellphone industry is the only one that has been truly innovating in the past few years but has started to stagnate in the past 6 to 9 months. Apple could partner with someone else but where they would likely improve the device is in the interface/software realm. Given that, the rest of the phone is just chips. Chips that are damned cheap right now. It would be a risky move going against the large manufactures and service providers but in the fledgling age of VoIP, Apple could take a communication device to the next level.

[Mack Swift @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Hmmm, maybe, just maybe Apple's getting into the Wireless VOIP game?

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I think if Apple wants the iPod to survive they NEED to do this, stand alone mp3 players will probably be gone in a few years. I think its a good idea if they are doing it but it would definitely be hard to break in to the market.

[rc51 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Why don't just offer the phone in their Apple phone sans a sim card?
Sony will be doing that with their triband W800 Walkman phone.
Just switch you sim card and you're ready to hip hop.

[Jacob Varghese @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Apple wouldn't want to be a CDMA MVNO when most of the world is on GSM. All these MVNO agreements have been with Sprint- CDMA carrier. I don't understand why they wouldn't just screw the carriers and sell directly to the consumer - There are lots of people who would pay $300 for a slick iPhone with a 4gb flash card in it.

[rc51 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I meant Why don't just offer the phone in their Apple Store sans a sim card?
Sony will be doing that with their triband W800 Walkman phone.
Just switch the sim card and you're ready to hip hop.
I really do need to proofread :)

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

the whole widget...the whole widget... the whole widget..

[lrhb @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Apple becoming a service provider... hmm... eWorld, anyone?

http://www.vanvr.com/eworld/index3.html

[JNS @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Check out my blog - I discuss this in brief on May 26th. It is a no brainer for Apple to do this. It should not be on the scale of Virgin/SK Earthlink - but for the 'Apple crowd' and beyond, it would be hot!

[Hellmaster @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Hmmm...

Apple- Intel...
Intel - WiMax...VoIP...
iPodphone...
iTunes downloads...


Hmmmmnn...

naawwwww!!

[JNS @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

sorry - www.taipanway.com - title Apple MVNO?

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Yeah! - the same "apple freaks" that helped ignite the iPod storm...

[almostinfamous @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

maybe apple will buy t-mobile... or get married and their baby will be the the icell... and the service will be i-mobile... a man can dream, cant he!!

[Mike D. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I'm sure I wasn't the first person to think of this by any stretch of the imagination, but I did manage to beat Forbes by a full year. From July 2004:

http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2004/07/all-hail-the-iphone

"MVNO strategy: Signing a deal like the Virgin deal would be both costly and limiting for Apple. Sprint and Virgin each paid about $180 million to get the system set up, and the deal limits Virgin�s customers to service on the Sprint network. A cheaper option for Virgin � one which some other companies are choosing � would have been to simply sell branded Virgin phones at retail and let Sprint handle all of the billing, customer service, and everything else associated with the service. This still isn�t good enough for Apple though as Sprint�s service may be unavailable or subpar in some areas of the country. It would also tie Apple�s customers to one company�s rate plan. What Apple needs to do is sell their phones directly (as Handspring does) and sign customers up with whatever provider they wish, reselling only the data part of the plan. Most service providers have data plans priced in roughly the same ballpark so it wouldn�t be hard for an Apple iPhone to come with a $10 per month data plan across the board. Apple keeps the $10 per month and the service provider gets the new customer and all of their talk-time minutes. Right now, .Mac is the only recurring revenue strategy for Apple� the iPhone will be the second. Furthermore, even if one only company decided to allow the iPhone onto their networks, that�s a huge group of possible users. The most obvious willing participant would be T-Mobile� a company aimed squarely at the hip youth market, and one Apple�s marketing and great product sense would jive well with."

[Samuel McConnell @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Of course, an iPhone would come complete with high-speed data, FairPlay-protected AAC files, and full OBEX Bluetooth support. They would SO want it syncable with iSync via Bluetooth, with the big BT push Apple's had recently.

[Ash @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

imho the iphone should have crackberry integration to really sell to people who would pay the premium for an apple labeled phone service.

[ajprice @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

All this stuff about cingular is fine, but there are other countries outside America, y'know. Wouldn't an international like T-Mobile or Vodafone be better than an American carrier?

[Randy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Once again the comments on engadget give the best analysis I've found yet. Man I love this place!

[homer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

engadget sue apple, they copied your logo!

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

engadget sue apple, they copied your logo!

---

witty, but engadget ripped themselves off and created that logo.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

actually, on second though, engadget should get sued for copying the volume button on Mac keyboards

[bitpad @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I like the idea of Apple as a mobile reseller/mvno. I think the carrier could benefit from the learnings, and Apple would have a nice recurring revenue stream from premium customers as the iPOD revenue stream matures. I've put all my comments at http://www.bitpad.com

Let me know what you think.

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[Tomcat @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

While this is not the Apple iPhone... it is a Motorola iTunes compatible phone
See: http://appleinsider.com/image.php?i=itunesiphoneprefs&id=1158
and http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1158
of course my Razr won't connect to my G4 :(
All I can Say is, buy lots of Apple stock before they announce their Apple MVNO Network & phone ! ! !