“Sprint CEO Dan Hesse says the opportunity to sell the iPhone was too good to pass up,” Ina Fried reports for AllThingsD.
“Even though the company has had to spend billions to get that privilege — more than $15 billion in commitments over four years — the company couldn’t afford not to have the devices its customers want,” Fried reports. “‘You really dont want to be on the outside,’ Hesse said, adding that the company had a lot of longtime customers who stuck with Sprint on the assumption that the company would eventually get the iPhone.”
Fried reports, “peaking to a group of reporters touring Sprint’s Kansas headquarters, Hesse said the key was just a willingness on Apple’s part. After years of wanting the iPhone, Sprint’s chance came in a phone call from Apple last year.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The gulf between the iPhone haves and have-nots will only grow wider.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
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So you are this huge mobile carrier that has millions of subscribers and sells millions of phones and generates billions in revenue. And you are sitting at home (as it were), waiting, hoping, praying. And then, one day, your waiting is over, your prayers have been heard, your hopes and dreams are coming through: you get THE phone call! You have just been chosen to become the member of the elite group. There is no end to your joy! You are now a proud reseller of The iPhone!
According to Hesse, the sentiment at Sprint wasn’t much different from the story above…
And justly so. 😉
Actually as Sprint management, they were probably hating the fact that people kept leaving to another carrier just to get the iPhone…
“…. it will cost up more and we may lose part of our big bonuses… but if we don’t get the iPhone, well. we might lose our over paid jobs… ”
Just a thought. LOL
It was worth the wait!
So Sprint is tickled but AT&T and Verizon are planning to drop iPhone? Strange. According to an article by Motley Fool today both ATT & V are losing money with the iPhone. Thus they have introduced new more expensive rate plans for iPhone. Motley says they are pushing other brands that are more profitable and have become nearly as good. So which is it? Only the Apple cool factor left. Great for Sprint and not for the big two? If Motley is correct I see a bag of hurt for my AAPL shares.
The new rate plans apply to any cell phone–smart, dumb, Android or Apple.
No one is planning on dropping the iPhone, they just would like to become less dependent on it to attract new subscribers. (in their dreams)
CupofJoe is a troll. He owns nothing from Apple, especially shares.
only reason at&t is pushing other phones is they are terrified that apple would control everything.
iPhone makes 70+% of their smart phone sales.
if any carrier drops iPhone they would sink.
Meanwhile, back at the ‘boo hoo hoo’ T-Mobile USA store….
I am convinced that the inept management at T-Mobile USA must be clueless to the fact that they are driving a good company into the ground with their poor handset offerings. Potential new customers never get a chance to experience better pricing and customer service because they aren’t going to downgrade their iPhone to try it. When are they going to wake up?
As one who left Sprint to get the iPhone, all it would take to get me back is a competitive and fair 3 phone family plan. The way ATT is going, Sprint may not have to drop prices, just wait for ATT to drive everyone to them.
AT&T is shit. That is all.
I like the quote in the article, “We saw no reason to bet against Apple”! Sounds like a good strategy for anyone working with Apple or competing against Apple.