AT&'T has profited nicely to date from being the only carrier to offer the iPhone. So it&'s bound to be nervous now that Verizon is getting ready to announce an iPhone on its own network. And yesterday the claws came out.
In reference to Verizon&'s CDMA network, AT&'Ta4a4s Larry Solomon said in a statement to Business Insider: a4AThe iPhone is built for speed, but that&'s not what you get with a CDMA phone. I&'m not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane.a4
Theoretically, Solomon is correct, as AT&'Ta4a4s 3G network offers higher peak speeds than Verizona4a4s. But that doesna4a4t mean much when you cana4a4t get a network connection at all, which users have frequently complained about with AT&'T&'s network. The 140,000-plus attendees of the Consumer Electronics Show ran into trouble with AT&'T connectivity last week, and residents of big cities like New York and San Francisco deal with AT&'T connectivity problems every day.
Indeed, many iPhone users are already living life in the slow lane, which would explain why the hype surrounding the fabled Verizon iPhone has reached exorbitant levels.
AT&'T has every reason to feel threatened given that Verizon will be offering unlimited data plans with its iPhone, something AT&'T no longer does for new customers.
This surely wona4a4t be the last we hear from AT&'T on the Verizon iPhone. The company last week announced that it would offer the 8-gigabyte iPhone 3GS for a mere $49 &8212' an attempt to deflect some attention away from Verizona4a4s news by having the cheapest iPhone offering in America.
Next Story: AOL&'s new editor comes from Foxnews.com Previous Story: Therea4a4s no such thing as a free sample
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: AT&'T, Verizon
People: Larry Solomon
Companies: AT&'T, Verizon
People: Larry Solomon
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments