Verizon: Never in the running for original iPhone, called Apple later
The Verizon iPhone was a long time coming and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg told BusinessWeek some of the reasons why, including dispelling the myth that Verizon was offered the original iPhone before AT&T.
Apple decided that it wanted one carrier in every major market. So Apple and AT&T consummated a deal three years ago. And because Apple was more focused on a single technology—the GSM technology—they chose AT&T. We had good discussions with them, but it was clear to us that they weren't looking to make a device for both sets of technologies.
So how did Apple and Verizon finally end up getting together? Verizon called Apple:
I did call up Steve and go visit him. Lowell McAdam [Verizon Wireless president and COO] called up [Apple COO] Tim Cook and went to visit him. So it was not just a one-person thing. We consciously reached out to them more than once. This was the view that we had that...eventually their interests would align with ours.
And yes, Seidenberg is "fine" with not having a Verizon logo on the iPhone. (He watches his words carefully there and for some reason brings BlackBerry and Droid into the answer?). They don't regret going CDMA over GSM, saying AT&T beat them because Apple picked AT&T for the iPhone initially, but Seidenberg remains confident Verizon won't face the same network problems AT&T has carrying massive iPhone data traffic. However, he's "going to let the performance speak for itself."
The whole interview is a great read. Check it out via the link below and let us know what you think. Was Verizon wise to wait for iPhone until now or should they have done more to get it earlier?
There are 18 comments. Add yours.
Pretty interesting. I might have to check that article out. Thx.
Now i laugh at all the people who said verizon was suppose to have the original iphone.
I know this is an iPhone blog but I wonder if those guys ever get tired of writing about iOS devices all the time. Go out enjoy the day and don't worry about iOS. It's like they breath iPhone iPad all the time.
Yeah, like it's their job or something. Weird.
I can't speak for the TiPB writers, but so far, I'm not tired of reading, and I've been reading since the Phone Different days. I'm also enjoying life and reading/writing this on my iPad while sitting on my back patio, enjoying the fresh air, as it were. Who's worrying? We're interested in tech and specifically iOS tech. It's a hobby. It actually helps me have a little escape when life gets a little too hurried. Life is good, and those of us who choose to talk about this stuff simply choose to enjoy that good life through the vehicle of tech. What's the harm in that?
I would not say Verizon was wise to wait this long. They are, however, lucky that given more than three years AT&T has not done a better job fixing the network performance issues for it's iPhone users. Based on the many surveys that have been conducted it will not surprise me one bit to witness a mass exodus to Big Red. Those users will most likely not be happy with the speed trade-off but if they are after more reliable phone calls they may find it. I will stay with AT&T as they work well in my area (Charlotte, NC) and enjoy the freed-up network traffic from all the disgruntled, grass-is-always-greener users who jump ship. Enjoy your CDMA.
I'm with man, they will regret it, no talk and surf the web at the same time, i will be laughing, and is going to be a useless iphone without that.
so long suckers.
It will be just as "useless" as the existing BlackBerry, Android, palm device currently on the Verizon network. Seems like there are an awful lot of smartphones sold on Verizon, and not much complaining about not being able to do data and talk at the same time. While I agree it would be cool, I don't see it as a "deal breaker"
Don't worry yo mama, I'm pretty sure most people on this blog are already laughing at how stupid you are. This article probably made you sh*t a brick too, after all the crap you have been spewing for the past month about Verizon not 'deserving' the iPhone.
Stay sucker! Sit! Roll over! Play dead!
Whether it was intentional or not, by not having the iPhone, Verizon was able to build up a good Android base--which AT&T is struggling with. Now they'll get instant iPhone hordes. Verizon is clearly the better competitor. Personally, I prefer AT&T. I like their service and technology better. BTW, CDMA does handle bandwidth more efficiently (at the cost of voice quality, battery life, etc.) so I don't think they'll experience AT&T's problems. As has been said many times, the biggest difference is coverage. For many, coverage is the most important factor. For me, quality is more important, and I have the good luck to have excellent AT&T coverage everywhere I travel.
Your final question doesn't seem to pay attention to the rest of the article. Didn't you just finish telling us that Verizon did what they could to get the iPhone? How did they wait? They said that Apple was committed to building a GSM phone and only a GSM phone at first, and only now have they wanted to build a CDMA phone. Verizon's voice network is CDMA. There's no way around that. What else could Verizon have done? How does their wisdom or lack thereof even come into play?
You know, Jason, I was wondering that very same thing myself.
I thought three years ago the CEO or whoever at Verizon said the iphone wasn't gonna be worth anything...
You know. I hear a lot of people arguing about this carrier is better than the other. That this Iphone is going to suck compared to this iphone. I think people should just relax. You realize the more successful the iphone is everywhere, the more support you will see for it overall. Shouldn't that be good enough for everyone. I hear people just get stupidly rude towards one and other about this stuff. It is kinda rediculous.
I personally have Verizon. I have been with them for many years. We always had Alltel and Verizon here. Now Alltel is switching to ATT here. I know how good the service is here for Verizon so I will stick with them hard to tell what ATT will be like in Wyoming.
@ John - "I would not say Verizon was wise to wait this long"
You're forgetting the small matter of the 3-year exclusivity contract with AT&T. Verizon waited, yes, but not because they wanted to.
@ Juan - "I know this is an iPhone blog but I wonder if those guys ever get tired of writing about iOS devices all the time."
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Really interesting stuff. Thanks for posting.
My impression was no one wanted the iPhone due to the control apple wanted back in 2007. AT&T was willing to deal with apple. I guess you would have to research tech articles back then. It is not so much who they approached first, but who really turned them down.