AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega stated today during a conference call that their exclusivity deal with the Apple iPhone may be ending in the U.S. , but offered no other immediate details. The admission to this outright is a bit of a bombshell, at least in my opinion, but then again it might not be entirely surprising either. This announcement comes on the heels of some very interesting rumors on the web that suggest Verizon’s own CEO meeting with Apple recently in relation to the development of an iPhone 4G for their own next generation cellular network.
It’s safe to say that the iPhone exclusivity AT&T Mobile currently posses has garnished them one of the top positions in the market, but without that exclusivity how much impact will there be on their subscriber base? AT&T Mobile’s CEO predictably states that there won’t be much of an impact, and more so because they are already looking at developing Android based devices for their own networking as well.
One thing is for sure; Apple has to be working on a new iPhone right now, even if it’s in the very early stages. How the expiration of their exclusivity agreement with AT&T in 2010 will impact the carrier availability of the new device only time will tell. With all the players on the stage — both wireless providers and “hot” devices manufacturers –2010 is going to be a very interesting year for this market. Ultimately, I think it’ll result in more options and flexibility for the consumer, which is always a good thing.
Source: AT&T exec implies iPhone exclusivity in U.S. to end
