Should Apple buy a carrier, or just go around them?

Should Apple buy a carrier, or just go around them?


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Just go round them: Apple is an international company so owning a carrier seem rather pointless.
Carriers can always use 12 / 24 month plans to cover the cost if they subsidise the hardware.
Swopping micro sims while traveling or any other time is a pain.. too small and getting smaller.

torchy said:

Just go round them: Apple is an international company so owning a carrier seem rather pointless.
Carriers can always use 12 / 24 month plans to cover the cost if they subsidise the hardware.
Swopping micro sims while traveling or any other time is a pain.. too small and getting smaller.

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Agreed overall. Apple should stick to what they do best. When companies start stepping away from their core competencies, their staple products tend to suffer (look at Microsoft).

Apple buying a carrier would be rather foolhardy. As popular as the iPhone is, there are a lot of other phones that are popular as well. Consider the scenarios if they bought out T-Mobile. Firstly, they'd be in direct competition now with other carriers who also have more complete coverage across the US. Secondly, they'd either be in a position where they'd have to continue selling and supporting phones other than the iPhone (not everyone wants an iPhone), or they'd have to alienate everyone who doesn't want an iPhone by kicking out all the other handsets. So… they'd risk irritating AT&T and Verizon by directly competing with them; be running a 2nd-rate network that isn't even accessible or desirable by a significant portion of their customer base; and they'd either have to support their handset competitors, or run off any customers on T-Mobile that aren't using an iPhone and "hope" that it would be offset by a greater influx of iPhone customers from elsewhere. No no no… there is just too much fail in this. Buying up a carrier would be flat out STUPID!

Now what might make more sense is if AT&T was to be allowed to buy up T-Mobile on the condition that they sell access to their towers at wholesale rates. Apple could then operate as an MVNO supporting only the iPhone, and yet spare the hassles/expenses that would be entailed by being responsible for the infrastructure if they owned it. They could also potentially offer better or more flexible deals than what AT&T or Verizon are offering now on their own.

Apple wouldn't be buying a carrier to turn into the next ATT or Verizon, they would be doing that to hopefully better the user's experience, and customize the plans according to what iPhone users need them for, without the dealing with att.'s or verizon's crap. It's not like they will be bringing in customers from all places with their regular phones, it will be just Apple iPhones. For that reason, I think it would do them good. It wouldn't be cheap to do, but Apple has enough cash to buy a company up, and significantly upgrade their infrastructure. I could definitely see it as a possibility, but the backlash from the current networks selling the iPhone would probably cause some kind of lawsuit and involvement of the FCC.

I think it's more likely they'd operate as an MVNO rather than buying a physical network. That would give them the freedom to move between networks depending upon wholesale rates and coverage and also avoid litigation. A particularly likely scenario in Europe where the concept is mature.

I don't know enough about these things but I wonder if they could come up with some kind of new solution.

lifeisabeach said:

Now what might make more sense is if AT&T was to be allowed to buy up T-Mobile on the condition that they sell access to their towers at wholesale rates. Apple could then operate as an MVNO supporting only the iPhone, and yet spare the hassles/expenses that would be entailed by being responsible for the infrastructure if they owned it. They could also potentially offer better or more flexible deals than what AT&T or Verizon are offering now on their own.

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This is one of the most well thought out solutions I've heard. I don't think it will actually happen but wouldn't it solve a ton of issues if it did?

This should not be taken place...Or we will be great disappoint at this grand band apple/...