The Apple-AT&T relationship has been a rocky one
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 6:57PM Christine Chan New reports have detailed that the relationship between Apple and AT&T has been tense, and reveals that Steve Jobs did consider dropping AT&T numerous times and even leaving for Verizon as far back as 2007, when the iPhone was first introduced.
This tense relationship is described in detail in this month's issue of Wired magazine, although it appears that the article is not up online yet. However, it has been summarized on Monday by Jason D. O'Grady of ZDNet.
The entire exclusive partner arrangement is similar to that of a 'loveless celebrity marriage,' as AppleInsider was kind enough to put it. It's one of those marriages that go wrong very quickly right after the honeymoon.
It seems that Apple was unwilling to restrict the Internet capabilities of their device, while AT&T has been struggling with the overwhelming pressure placed on their networks with this single brand of device.
According to an annonymous source in the magazine article, it seems that Jobs actually did consider breaking ties with AT&T at least a half-dozen times.
There was even a point in 2007 where the Apple engineers reportedly visited the headquarters of Qualcomm in order to consider the prospects of building an entirely new CDMA iPhone for Verizon. However, this proved to be too costly and complicated, since an entirely new model of iPhone would have to be made to fit new chips in.
Another interesting fact from the article is that Qualcomm had already started working on a chip that would allow the iPhone to work on both AT&T and Verizon networks. If recent rumors are to mean anything, there may be a sliver of hope for a CDMA iPhone for Verizon in January 2011 (but no guarantees, of course).
Another important point in the spat between these two companies is the issue of tethering: Apple wanted it to be included in standard data plan charges (hence why every other carrier worldwide offered tethering before AT&T), while AT&T wanted to charge users extra for the ability to tether. AT&T won that battle, since tethering the iPhone will cost users an additional $20 a month for USB or Bluetooth tethering.
The iPhone also uses a radio from Infineon, which is a company that has previously been mostly used in Europe, where the cellular towers are much more common than North America. This caused AT&T to feel that this chip would lead to inferior reception and asked Apple to resolve the issues "together." Apple's response to this is said to be: "No, you resolve them. They're not our problem. They're your problem."
Even small things were argued over between the two corporations. An AT&T representative reportedly told one of Job's deputies that Jobs should wear a suit to meet with the AT&T Board of Directors. The answer to AT&T? "We're Apple. We don't wear suits. We don't even own suits."
What other things could the two have fought over? When is the breaking point? With light being shined on these incidents, the possibility of a Verizon iPhone may even be more likely...
Source: AppleInsider
