Most in the tech world for months have expected today to arrive, as Verizon Wireless begins accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 4. However, AT&T – although it has known about the potential impact of losing exclusive rights to the Apple handset for an equal period, is still offering a flurry of last-minute reasons why iPhone owners should stay where they are.
Attempting to reach the price-conscious, AT&T has doubled the amount of data iPhone owners can consume while paying the same rate. AT&T is also offering a wireless hotspot service, similar to Verizon’s, for smartphones – at the same price of tethering to a computer. No matter this feature was first provided Android users. However, like some late-night pitchman, wait, there’s more.
AT&T is also putting on a full-court press online campaign to make the dividing line between itself and Verizon even brighter. On the Web and in e-mails, the carrier is touting its iPhone service over its rival. AT&T claims iPhone owners will not be able to talk and browse the Web at the same time at Verizon. AT&T also highlights international calling ability and faster throughput. (Never mind the reviews giving Verizon the nod for fewer dropped calls.)
In January, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told analyst the company expects a “rocky, volatile and hard to predict” 2011. The loss of iPhone exclusivity will probably be the biggest bump in the road. Although AT&T passed Verizon in terms of mobile customers (95.5 million versus 94.1 million), analyst expectations range from AT&T losing 10 percent of its subscribers to Verizon selling 25 million iPhone 4 handsets.
For AT&T, how much it loses by the Verizon pact is in the hands of its rivals. If call stability trumps speed, Verizon will come out ahead. However, if Verizon cannot find a way to avoid the same problems AT&T encountered when it won the Apple phone in 2007, the celebration may happen in Dallas (AT&T’s HQ) instead.
