As iPhone sales continue to climb, U.S. carriers should expect Apple to also require increased subsidies, one observer writes. Verizon could pay nearly 28 percent more in 2012, with Sprint and AT&T also facing double-digit hikes in payments for the popular smartphone.
According to Geggenheim Securities analyst Shing Yin, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will likely sell 38 million to 40 million iPhones during 2012, up from 30 million iPhones during 2011. Because Verizon and Sprint sold the bulk of those handsets, their subsidy hikes will be the largest, Yin tells investors.
At the same time, Yin sees no slowdown in Apple’s increasing smartphone sales. Indeed, the analyst projects if the tech giant unveils its next iPhone with LTE support, it “could lead to greater share during 2012 and beyond.” Today, Morgan Stanley told investors it believes Apple’s next-generation iPhone will support both LTE and 3G and be available during the second half of this year.
Thursday, Verizon announced it would no longer sell smartphones that did not support the faster LTE technology. In 2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S without LTE, explaining the wireless standard was not ready for prime time. However, an increasing number of U.S. carriers have built LTE networks, also increasing the likelihood Apple’s next handset will indeed support the feature.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
10 responses to “Apple Expected To Ask Carriers Pay More As iPhone Sales Continue Upward”
Wish they’d sock it to AT&T. If you live in Texas and you’re not in an SMSA of more than 100K, you are treated by AT&T like a red-headed stepchild. No 3G, and sometimes not even the most basic coverage even on Interstates. As soon as my AT&T contract is up, I’m bailing.
My Verizon iPad, however, has 3G all over Texas but doesn’t work in New Mexico. Sprint for the next iPhone?
“Verizon announced it would no longer sell smartphones that did not support the faster LTE”. Gosh. If others follow suit it may put enough pressure on Apple to ensure the iPhone 5 will have it. Actually that would kinda make sense, new marketing number for a new upgraded kind of phone… unless it’ll be the “iPhone LTE”? (we did have an “iPhone 3G” after all…)
“As iPhone sales continue to climb, U.S. carriers should expect Apple to also require increased subsidies, one observer writes.” Which observer??
The title is misleading. The “rate” is staying the same. If they sold one phone, they owed Apple, for argument, $5. Next year they are going to sell two phones and pay $10!. Apple is asking the carriers to pay more!!!!
This was sad.
OK CultofMac. Would you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ** READ ** the article before re-posting it on your site? You make it sound like Apple is RAISING the price of their iPhone to the carriers. In fact, the real truth is that the carriers are selling MORE iPhones so that increases the subsidy. The subsidy amount is not changing, so let’s say right now it’s 300 bucks per phone, sprint sells 1 million, they pay apple 300 million. Now they are saying Sprint will sell 1.5 million (again just throwing it out there), so now they will pay a 450 million subsidy. NOTE: The RATE has not changed, the subsidy “increased” because they sold more phones so duh… of course they gotta pay more cuz the iPhones aren’t free…
People should keep in mind that this isn’t confirmed to be true. Sometimes I think people just make things up to stoke the coals. Besides, why would consumers care what the carriers pay Apple? This has no bearing whatsoever on what we can buy or how we can use it.
Current LTE chip sets kill batteries.
When a set is available that meets the requirements, then it will happen. Not before.
This is hot air from Verizon.
you are asking too much
i think we should care,if apple charge carriers more,chances are that is going to mean that the carriers will charge us more.
AHAHAHAH! U rock. :)
Apple could care less if Verizon sells their phone or not. Luckily they are still a company that wont sacrifice product quality to hit sales #s.