WSJ: Verizon Wireless adding capacity, testing network to prepare for Apple iPhone

24 Comments

“Apple is making a version of the iPhone that Verizon Wireless will sell early next year, according to people familiar with the matter. The carrier has been meeting with Apple, adding capacity and testing its networks to prepare for the heavy data load from iPhone users,” Spencer E. Ante reports for The Wall Street Journal.

“The carrier is seeking to avoid the kind of public-relations hit AT&T Inc. took when iPhone users overtaxed its network, especially in New York and San Francisco,” Ante reports. “In an interview last week, Verizon Wireless Chief Technology Officer Tony Melone wouldn’t comment on the iPhone. But he said the company’s network would be up to any challenge now that it has withstood the surge of data use on Android smartphones.

“At the end of September, Verizon Wireless had some nine million Android subscribers, up from none a year earlier, said Matthew Goodman, a senior analyst with Majestic Research,” Ante reports. “AT&T is carrying a heavier load—16.5 million iPhone customers at the end of September, Mr. Goodman estimates.”

Ante reports, “AT&T’s executives have acknowledged that they underestimated the load that iPhone users would bring. Late last year, the company embarked on a major effort to improve service, particularly in New York City and San Francisco, boosting network spending by $2 billion. While much of the work has been completed in New York, San Francisco isn’t yet up to the carrier’s own quality standards Efforts to repair AT&T’s image with customers are also lagging.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: And millions of Verizon customers who were thinking about settling for an Android phone instead decide to wait 90 or so days so they can get the real thing. Classic market freeze. Eric T. Mole wanted to play, but instead he and his “partners” are getting played by the grand master, Steve Jobs.

24 Comments

  5. It would be prudent to realize the profoundly disruptive influence the zero cost Android play has had on the manufacturer space, absolutely sucking the air out of the market segment msft winmo had assumed was theirs for the taking when they had a product.

    Reply

  6. It would be prudent to realize the profoundly disruptive influence the zero cost Android play has had on the manufacturer space, absolutely sucking the air out of the market segment msft winmo had assumed was theirs for the taking when they had a product.

    Reply

  9. I suspect the iPhone will bring Verizon’s network to its knees. Verizon users have never been big data hogs because their POS phones don’t do data well and Verizon’s service plans suck every dollar out of heavy data users. The iPhone will cause Verizon to realize what a 21st century wireless company is suppose to be. Hey Verizon, welcome to AT&T’s world of constantly spending big bucks on system upgrades.

    Reply

  10. I suspect the iPhone will bring Verizon’s network to its knees. Verizon users have never been big data hogs because their POS phones don’t do data well and Verizon’s service plans suck every dollar out of heavy data users. The iPhone will cause Verizon to realize what a 21st century wireless company is suppose to be. Hey Verizon, welcome to AT&T’s world of constantly spending big bucks on system upgrades.

    Reply

  13. Remember that before the very first iPhone came out, it was just a rumor, with no street cred. All the other cell phone carriers didn’t care for it, as a phone from Apple would never make it. I know a lot of people would like it on other carries, but AT&T believed in it & in doing so, agreed to a long term deal. This will come to an end, but the iPhone is where it is today, mostly because AT&T took that chance & with such coverage, gave everyone a chance to sample it & love it.

    Reply

  14. Remember that before the very first iPhone came out, it was just a rumor, with no street cred. All the other cell phone carriers didn’t care for it, as a phone from Apple would never make it. I know a lot of people would like it on other carries, but AT&T believed in it & in doing so, agreed to a long term deal. This will come to an end, but the iPhone is where it is today, mostly because AT&T took that chance & with such coverage, gave everyone a chance to sample it & love it.

    Reply

  15. The Verizon speculation started at least two years too early. Five years after the iPhone launch, however, it is finally approaching the time at which multiple iPhone carriers in the U.S. will become a reality. It may take another three to six months.

    I believe that Apple had originally planned for the end of the AT&T exclusivity agreement to coincide with the availability of next generation cell technology on other providers. Given the optimistic schedules for LTE, etc., Apple has apparently adapted to CDMA using a flexible chipset. Assuming everything works as planned, this will be yet another example of Apple savvy trumping the copycats.

    Reply

  16. The Verizon speculation started at least two years too early. Five years after the iPhone launch, however, it is finally approaching the time at which multiple iPhone carriers in the U.S. will become a reality. It may take another three to six months.

    I believe that Apple had originally planned for the end of the AT&T exclusivity agreement to coincide with the availability of next generation cell technology on other providers. Given the optimistic schedules for LTE, etc., Apple has apparently adapted to CDMA using a flexible chipset. Assuming everything works as planned, this will be yet another example of Apple savvy trumping the copycats.

    Reply

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