Why Doesnt ATT Advertise SIM Cards on their Network?

[RogerPodacter]

i would think with all the general lack of knowledge in the american public about what GSM vs CDMA really is, that ATT would use the SIM card gimmick in their commercials and advertising. why dont they? i would think that it would be such an attractive thing for the average joe to know, that people would flock to GSM. even my dad just switched to tmobile from sprint, and now that he understands his sim card he cant beleive he didnt go sooner.

now i'm NOT saying that the average person is a power user and switches phones 5 times per week. but even the most uneducated person would understand the convenience of switching sim cards if his phone breaks, or wants to copy contacts over, wants a weekend phone, etc. i mean hey, us ahhmericuns are all about FREEDOM, right? whats more free than a GSM network? (lol i can think of lots of things, but you get my point).

[timeless2]

I think what you've stated is just that--people fear what they generally don't understand or even desire to. I'd say (something ridiculous perhaps) that 85 to 90 percent of all mobile subscribers view their devices as tools, not toys. Therefore, they want to place calls, read email, work tickets, etc and then put the little bastid down & unwind with an ice cold beer.

The remaining 10 to 15 percent of subscribers are sitting at keyboards, just as you and I.

[RogerPodacter]

you know youre probably right. sometimes its just so hard to see things that way! guess i'm not an average joe anymore though.

[gregsmith59]

Can you imagine the incredible BS some customers would get from CS when they call up confused about that SIM thing they saw on TV?

[timeless2]

....that SIM thing they saw on TV?

Nice...

[mySRT8U]

LOL! thats so true... lol sad but true i love customer care i teach them a few things sometimes. lol

[digitalslurp]

Might associate it with The Sims game. My mom probably would.

[Malibu21]

Hah, I've heard more than one of my customers refer to it as a Sims card rather than a sim card

[fusiclover]

Contrary to popular belief, I think most customers think there is a sim card in CDMA phones even when obviously there isn't.

I've had many customers <if you don't know by now I work for Sprint> ask if we transfer the contacts by switching "that little card thing from phone to phone". We then explain that we don't use sim cards, only with Nextel.

I can understand this, as I think that many folks initially <10+ years ago> were using a phone that had a sim in it, and didn't ever question whether it was there or not.

I do find it funny, however, that some still refer to the memory card <micro sd> as a sim chip.... "no no.. it's a memory card"...."Ohhh.... what's the difference?"

[CrazyKaks]

Yeah seriously, i have more customers come in with questions reguarding the sim card then i do anything else. i would hope to god that AT&T won't start advertising about the sim cards then i would just get a bunch of idiots coming in the store asking about a "sims card" because like everyone else stated they do already mix it up with "The Sims" and call it "sims cards" not "sim card" i dont understand why, but some people are just stupid and think that they know more about their phone equipment. I mean im sorry but if i paid $200 for something i want know about it and what it does not just guess at it. PLEASE STUPID NON CELLULAR AMERICANS LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR PHONE AND WHATS IN IT!

[USSS]

Picture this hypothetical TV ad in an AT&T store, with "Every Breath You Take" by The Police wafting throughout the store:

[Fade music under.]

[Sales rep]: "Good morning, ma'am. Welcome to AT&T. Could I interest you in this new Motorola Maxx V6 quad-band phone on a four-year plan?

[Customer]: "Hmm...well, I'm not sure. That is a very nice phone. But I keep hearing about something called a SIM card. What is that?"

[Sales rep]: "It's a Subscriber Identity Module, ma'am."

[Customer]: "Oh my, that sounds...serious."

[Sales rep, smiling with an ominous, blank stare]: "It is."

[Announcer VO with Rod Serling-like voice]: "Today, Ella Higginbotham walked into an AT&T store, with nothing more on her mind than to just buy a new cellphone. What she doesn't know is that the phone she's about to take home with her comes with a "special" card. It's a tiny card called a SIM, with a feature that could transform her existence forever...a feature that will expose her boring, private life for all to see."

[Customer]: "You mean, you'll...you'll know whenever I'm cooking a pot pie in the microwave if I buy this phone?"

[Sales rep, with a faint grin]: "Yes, ma'am...we will. Not only that, we'll know if it's chicken or turkey."

[Cut to close-up of customer with jaw agape.]

[Announcer]: "The New AT&T. Your world. Delivered."

[Fade music up and out.]

Copyright 2007. USSS. All rights reserved.

[Back2ATT]

I'd be more interested in knowing why Sprint and Verizon (CDMA) have not adopted the SIM card yet.

It must have something to do with controlling your customers...

Technology itself cannot be the holdback.

[w00tslap]

With all of the other cool things at&t offer i doubt they want to spend advertising money for the SIM card. The average person does not care if they can swap sim cards to differant phones. Only REAL nerds that spend time collecting the latest phones and go online and talk about them on forums...*sigh*... care about that sort of thing.

[w00tslap]

I'd be more interested in knowing why Sprint and Verizon (CDMA) have not adopted the SIM card yet.

It must have something to do with controlling your customers...

Technology itself cannot be the holdback.

Well think about how much time and money they have put into building this Nationwide(sortof) network. Its just not economical for them to spend a lot more money just to switch every single one of their towers to support GSM bands.

[Bob859]

Here is another idea: Two guys are getting ready for a hunting trip. Both had just purchased expensive new phones, one got an AT&T and the other a Sprint. The guy with the AT&T phone says, "It is going to be raining out in the woods, and I don't want to take my new phone". He quickly moves his SIM to his old Nokia 3595 and he is ready to go. The Sprint user says, "Hmmm, that's a good idea, I think I will switch back to my old phone, for the trip, too". Two hours later he is still waiting for Sprint customer service to answer, so he can switch phones.

.