ABANDON SHIP !!
This morning would seem to bring quite a clash of titans. It would seem every media outlet is trying to out-do every other media outlet with completely baseless claims about the imminent death of AT&T. Why, everyone just knows Apple is going to jump ship and head over to Verizon, thus driving AT&T into oblivion. Or early retirement. Or wherever it is has-been cell phone carriers end up :
Verizon's on the Horizon for Some AT&T Users
which begat :
Report: 1.4 million AT&T iPhone users would switch to Verizon
which begat :
AT&T to lose 23% iPhone users to Verizon--report
and finally jumped the shark with :
Survey: Nearly 50% of AT&T iPhone users would switch to Verizon
*WARNING* : Should you choose to actually click on that last link, you will be treated to the most appalling, obnoxiously intrusive ads on the whole of the inter-tubes. You were warned!
So we thought for grins and giggles we would search out... oh, we don’t know exactly. Perhaps something that would bring a little balance to the girly-man shriekfest over AT&T’s impending doom at the hands of Verizon. Lo and behold we found AT&T itself has a little something to say on the subject :
AT&T Chief Randall Stephenson recently spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York City, Stephenson stated that while the iPhone was a major success for AT&T, two-thirds of iPhone purchases came from previous AT&T customers and were not likely to switch to another network just because the iPhone opened up over there as an option.
More to the point, Stephenson says that the iPhone 4 was such a huge success that they’ve locked in a huge chunk of their existing customers into new two year contracts. Added together, Stephenson thinks it’s unlikely that a Verizon iPhone would lead to a mass defection of users.
Exactly. If “reporters” would, oh, do their jobs by conducting basic research, they wouldn’t look so foolish by being so wrong all the time. In all likelihood, even if the numbers are correct, the people alleged to be “jumping ship” are probably not iPhone customers and probably do not represent all that much profit to AT&T in the first place. If anything, AT&T will probably be throwing parties (at least out of public view) when these low-profit customers bolt for the door and infest Verizon.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out !
Oh, and lest we forget - here is the reaction of, well, you know, competent adults that aren’t acting like teenage girls :
AT&T Raised at Credit Suisse Given Concern Verizon to Get IPhone
AT&T Inc. was raised to “outperform” at Credit Suisse Group AG, which said Verizon Communications Inc.’s likely introduction of the iPhone in the first quarter won’t hurt AT&T’s business as much as investors fear.
“The impact from the loss of iPhone exclusivity should be substantially less than current valuations imply,” Jonathan Chaplin, a Credit Suisse analyst, wrote in a report sent to clients today. AT&T is currently the only U.S. company that offers Apple Inc.’s iPhone.
Exactly.
Missing from all of the school-girl natterings of the grab-as-many-eyballs-as-possible crowd is the biggest reason many users will not switch from AT&T, iPhone or no iPhone :
You cannot use the internet and your phone at the same time with Verizon.
Let us repeat that point because it sounded, oh, vaguely important :
You cannot use the internet and your phone at the same time with Verizon.
The CDMA protocol Verizon uses does not allow for the use of Voice and Data at the same time.
For some people, who aren’t with Verizon for a reason, this is a very big deal. Some people with AT&T depend on being able to access information while they are on a telephone call. Maybe they need directions. Maybe they need a stock quote. Maybe they need to access the company servers to give a client a quote. The needs vary, but the difference is immense - having to call people back because you can’t get them what they need now is unprofessional and poor customer service.
And for a lot of people, the occasional dropped call is worth the tradeoff in customer service and convenience. One simply doesn’t abandon ship without a better tool to replace the one currently being used. Especially when one is under contract to use that tool for two years.
