Steve Jobs: 'there might be' advantages to two iPhone carriers in US
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 1st 2010 9:55PM
posted June 1st 2010 9:55PM
Speaking of AT&T, Jobs says that his company meets with the carrier once per quarter to get briefed on network improvements, and while he notes that they've got the fastest 3G around, he says "I wish they were improving faster" -- while also qualifying that any network receiving the iPhone back in '07 probably would've suffered the same kinds of problems AT&T has. When pressed on whether we'd see the iPhone on another carrier in the near future, Jobs hit them up with the expected "no comment" before turning to other subjects, so make of it what you will. Follow the break for another interesting snippet from the Q&A session at D8 where Steve muses on AT&T's network improvements.
Q: Steve, we love our iPhones... but our concern is that we can't make a phone call on it. Is someone working on that?
A: Well, we're talking about it. You can bet we're doing everything we know how to do.
Q: Can we expect something soon?
A: I'll tell you what I'm told -- (LONG pause) -- to make things better, people reallocate spectrum, and they do things like increase the backhaul, so they put in gigabit Ethernet instead of T1... things get worse before they get better. If you believe that, things should be getting a lot better soon!
Huge laughs.
A: I'm told that a lot of places are getting better certainly by the end of this summer.
Kara: And if they don't get better?
Steve: Then they won't.
I think Steve just used the right keywords to keep people from buying a new phone until after WWDC, if only a few wait and then convert to AT&T Steve still wins
A: I'm told that a lot of places are getting better certainly by the end of this summer.
Kara: And if they don't get better?
Steve: Then they won't.
That pretty much sums up my views on apple. They aren't invoating like google is imo.
@androidjunkie
He's saying that if they haven't gotten better by the end of the summer, he doubts that they will any time soon. This was the most telling statement of all in the Q/A. He's getting fed up with AT&T too. But what does someone else's network have to do with Apple's innovation?? I don't get that connection.
Kara: And if they don't get better?
Steve: Then they won't.
Haha, I love his bluntness!
I see T-Mobile as a far more likely candidate than Verizon simply because they are the only other US UMTS carrier. A CDMA iPhone would make little sense, especially when the largest potential carrier, Verizon, has (rather successfully) been advertising the Droid series so heavily against the iPhone. Also, going to CDMA would likely require that Apple use a Qualcomm chipset, including CPU, which I don't think Apple would want to do. AT&T will be in a real world of hurt if the iPhone does show up on T-Mobile because their prices and customer service stomp all over AT&T, even if their coverage isn't as extensive.
@donovan1983 There are other countries which also have CDMA carriers, e.g. China Telecom.
I see it been a great advantage to Apple making a CDMA version of the iPhone.
haha I also like steve precious information about Iphone ....Also check out Latest Prices of Iphone In Pakistan .....mobile2u.com.pk
The iPhone is available on multiple carriers in most other countries. I see no disadvantages here. The only I see in the USA is AT&T's cosy little agreement with Apple.
Steve Jobs is an arrogant ass.
"Kara: And if they don't get better?
Steve: Then they won't."
I can see it coming to T-mobile maybe. It's a GSM network and a lot of people already use it on it.
look at these old fucks
I honestly think that they should sell an unlocked version of the iPhone in the US. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people who would be more than happy.
Honestly I'm happy the iPhone is sticking with AT&T now. I'm in Chicago and I get and have gotten excellent service with AT&T, Cingular, SBC Wireless, and before that Cellular One even before the turn of the decade. There's two dead spots that I frequent, one of them being my office, however it's in the center of a stone building and I don't expect to get service there. The other is near I-80 and I-57, but that's it.
I travel a bit and only while in central Michigan at a remote YMCA camp did I not receive service. I hear that AT&T has challenges in other cities, however in Chicago they do a pretty good job.
I was turned off from Verizon a few years ago when every phone they sent out had their dumb UI on it. Who knows, maybe we'll see something like that on a Verizon iPhone. If so, they can keep it.