[opendtv] AT&T denies loss of iPhone exclusive would hit earnings

  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:54:15 -0500

Strange. The heading of the article suggests a story that is actually covered 
by just one sentence in the article.

And:

"Over the weekend, the TechCrunch blog cited unnamed sources in the supply 
chain, indicating that Apple had ordered 'millions' of CDMA chips from Qualcomm 
to be delivered in December, which would suggest a January launch of a CDMA 
phone."

Correction: "... millions of cdma2000 chips from Qualcomm ..." Apple has been 
oredering WCDMA chips ever since the 3G iPhone was (at long last) introduced.

Bert

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http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/08/09/att-denies-loss-iphone-exclusive-hit-earnings.htm

AT&T denies loss of iPhone exclusive would hit earnings
Verizon could finally get Apple deal in January, AT&T allies with SEMC
By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 9 August, 2010

Speculation is mounting once more that Verizon Wireless will soon get its own 
iPhone, and AT&T seems to be taking this seriously enough to insist, in a 
filing with the SEC, that it does not expect a "material negative impact" 
should its US exclusive end.

Over the weekend, the TechCrunch blog cited unnamed sources in the supply 
chain, indicating that Apple had ordered "millions" of CDMA chips from Qualcomm 
to be delivered in December, which would suggest a January launch of a CDMA 
phone. These stories are very similar to some that surfaced earlier in the 
year, when pundits were betting on a CDMA product at the same time as the 
iPhone 4. And as on that occasion, it is worth remembering that CDMA iPhones 
could be destined for other operators than Verizon, such as China Telecom, 
Korea Telecom or KDDI in Japan.

Of course, the story Apple watchers really want is to see the first Verizon 
iPhone also supporting its LTE network, which will go live in some markets by 
the end of the year. However, Apple has not tended to go near the cutting edge 
in connectivity terms - the first iPhone did not even support 3G - and Qualcomm 
itself has been very conservative about when chipsets will be ready for 
commercial quality LTE handsets. Its chips are likely to turn up in dongles and 
data cards during 2011 rather than smartphones.

Whatever the launch turns out to be, it seems likely Verizon will finally get 
an Apple deal early next year, though the growing success of its Android Droid 
range indicates it does not need one as much as it used to. In several key 
smartphone metrics such as postpaid and data ARPU growth, it has been outpacing 
AT&T. That cellco is gearing up for the loss of its exclusive though. Its 
regulatory filing - the first in which it has directly addressed the issue of 
the Apple deal - said it did not expect the end of the exclusive to hurt its 
wireless earnings.

"We do not expect any such terminations to have a material negative impact on 
our wireless segment income, consolidated operating margin or our cash from 
operations," the document said. It pointed out that 80% of the company's 
subscribers are on family-talk plans or business discount plans, which would 
both reduce churn.

The carrier has been steadily building up its smartphone range to compensate 
for any loss of sole rights to the Apple handset. It will support Brew, 
Symbian, webOS and Windows and recently launched the RIM BlackBerry Torch as an 
exclusive. It has also launched several Android models including the Motorola 
Backflip and Samsung Captivate, and now it will add the Sony Ericsson Xperia 
X10. This is a breakthrough for the Japanese-Swedish supplier, which has made 
little progress in infiltrating the US carriers, though it is not clear how 
much promotion it will get from AT&T, which has made the Torch its summer 
flagship launch. The X10 will ship in the US on August 15, priced at $149.99 
with two-year contract and AT&T is also likely to add the Sony Ericsson Vivaz, 
which runs Symbian/Series 60.
 
 
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