April 28, 2009 by James Oliver
According to USA today, Verizon wireless could be about to break AT&T’s current monopoly over the iPhone. According to the paper, the two companies are in ‘high level talks’ about a deal to provide the SmartPhone market leader to its customers. Any such deal would be a serious boon for Verizon, as it would enable them to stem the flow of subscribers rushing over to AT&T to get an iPhone as soon as their contracts expire. It also makes sense from an Apple point of view, as it would allow them access to an untapped vein of customers.
It had been thought that AT&T had an exclusive five year agreement to sell the iphone, though sources are now indicating that the current agreement only lasts until 2010 which means we could see competing iPhone providers as soon as next year.
What that will mean for the market is yet to be established, though it would be pretty surprising if the repercussions didn’t include a whole lot of new clients for Apple.
Though no comment has yet emerged from AT&T, it is thought they will be none too pleased, especially since around half of their new subscribers last quarter were iPhone buyers. The loss of the exclusivity deal would have to hurt growth.
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