Will Apple Become Your Next Carrier?

**daleraver** · 05-01-2012, 08:18 PM

Are you ready to ditch AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint to receive your wireless service directly from Apple? An industry expert says Apple will soon be providing wireless plans directly to iPad and iPhone users by becoming a mobile virtual network operator.

According to 9to5Mac, wireless industry analyst Whitey Bluestein made a presentation that outlined how Apple will directly provide wireless service to customers.

As a MVNO, Apple would not own the wireless spectrum, but contract with an operator to obtain access for a bulk rate. Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile are examples of two MVNOs in the United States.

Here's a link to the full story:

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/05/e...rvice-directly

I hope this happens if Apple can provide an ala carte service for voice, text & data buckets.

**jarrodpd** · 05-01-2012, 09:20 PM

They should buy spectrum and roll out their own network at least it would be 50times more reliable.

**KingBuzzo** · 05-01-2012, 09:31 PM

nah, they are greedy enough...

**Airforcekid** · 05-01-2012, 09:35 PM

It would probably operate on AT&T postpaid network since that's who they choose begin with since data and voice just works together. I also assume they would offer unlimited data around $75 a month with text and voice options.

**every1nosme** · 05-01-2012, 10:06 PM

Couldn't they possibly lease space on all 4 major networks much like tracphone and leave your iphone truly unlocked to use whatever network was the best signal at the time? Sosometimes it might use vzw and sometimes att or maybe sprint or tmo? If they did that I might even go in on that for the right price cuz you'd have coverage pretty much anywhere

Sent from my DROID3 using HowardForums

**daleraver** · 05-02-2012, 05:55 AM

Think about it, the iPhone they sell today is capable of working on Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Adding T-Mobile should be easy for them.

I would gladly buy a fulll price, unlocked phone from them if it would roam on any carrier, depending on signal strength and available bandwidth.

If Carlos Slim from Straight Talk can make a profit selling unlimited minutes, text, and 2 Gb of data for $45 a month, I'd expect Apple to be in that price range also. Especially with the volume of business they should expect to get.

This could rewrite the way the cellular industry functions, and not in a good way for the major carriers. Imagine dropping AT&T, or VZ for essentially the same service and better coverage for about half the price, or less. We would soon see the carriers dropping their prices also just to be competitive, and customer service should improve dramatically also. Their "Retention" dept. should be very accomodating at renewal time.

I would guess the FCC should be highly in favor of this, as it is a much better use of the "Pubilc Airwaves" and the limited frequency spectrum designated for cellular. Your phone can use every antenna on every tower in range.

It will also put other phone mfgrs. playing catch-up in bringing to market a comparable product, so another win for Apple.

I'm really keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

**PlatMan** · 05-02-2012, 05:58 AM

Originally Posted by daleraver

............................
I'm really keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

Me too!

Could be something big here!

**MasonDoctorJT** · 05-02-2012, 06:03 AM

Are you guys crazy? Apple charges more for less than impressive devices than anyone else. Thru would only do the same with having their own wireless service. Thus would be the scenario.Apple fanboy: I have an area with no service, apple: that is a area for people to relax from being bombarded by emails and texts. Apple fanboy: oh great idea! Apple: it's an extra 5 cents a minute when you're in that area. Apple fanboy: no problem..... You're the best Apple.

My point is prices would be driven up by Apple and their sheople.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using HowardForums

**daleraver** · 05-02-2012, 06:41 AM

Sounds more like you're afraid Apple will "One Up" the industry again.

Your profile shows you on two carriers. Getting great coverage are you?

If you don't have an iPhone, and don't use any of the carriers in this thread, why do you read and post here anyway?

**jarrodpd** · 05-02-2012, 06:47 AM

Originally Posted by MasonDoctorJT

Are you guys crazy? Apple charges more for less than impressive devices than anyone else. Thru would only do the same with having their own wireless service. Thus would be the scenario.Apple fanboy: I have an area with no service, apple: that is a area for people to relax from being bombarded by emails and texts. Apple fanboy: oh great idea! Apple: it's an extra 5 cents a minute when you're in that area. Apple fanboy: no problem..... You're the best Apple.

My point is prices would be driven up by Apple and their sheople.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using HowardForums

They do charge a little bit more for their hardware but the service sides of things are usually really cheap from apple so I don't see why u think they area going to charge a lot when it would hurt them.

**ceredon** · 05-02-2012, 07:26 AM

It's funny how the haters always try to say Apple is more expensive. These are the same people that were BestBuy sales people's wetdreams. All you have to tell them 'there's more megahertz in this PC so it's better!" and they'd be all over it. The rest of the world realized clock speed wasn't the be and and end all. Similarly with Apple products, the performance is comparable even though they have 'inferior' hardware. They own the entire stack, software and hardware. They customize the CPU, battery chemistry and the rest to maximize their performance. The same holds true for their OS. They optimize it where Android is, by definition, unable to be optimized since it must support such a broad array of devices. Google themselves acknowledge, that regardless of how much hardware they throw in a device, Android can never be as fluid as iOS (realtime priority of the UI thread...). Yet fantards still want to believe it is, cuz they must know better than Google engineers...

And that would be ignoring that the most expensive part of any modern phone being the display. Android users will always rationalize their fuzzy displays, but the simple fact is that Sammy and HTC know they can't put a higher quality display on their phones as it would price them out of their core market. Kids won't pay for quality. Make the screen bigger instead, so they can honestly say it is higher resolution (yet only as a function of the larger screen). Also funny, if this rumor was about google doing the same thing, the fantards would be praising it as wonderful, but since it is Apple then they say only 'sheeple' would be interested.

In anycase, this rumor has been out since before the original iPhone launched. Either Jobs bio or another book mentioned that it actually went as far as Apple meeting with carriers about this deal before AT&T (Cingular) signed on to be the exclusive carrier.

**Airforcekid** · 05-02-2012, 09:16 AM

The more I think about it the default network would most likely be sprint since data is cheapest their for mvnos however it may roam on to Verizon tmobile and AT&T with 1 to 2 gigs of data on each network in theory allowing unlimited data if you have sprint coverage however if you do not you would be limited to the other networks around you I would pay $100 a month for unlimited data text and talk to use all the networks.

**daleraver** · 05-02-2012, 10:38 AM

I'm not too sure Sprint has the bandwidth available to be wholesaleing it to an MVNO. They announced they are cutting back on some of the Unlimited Plans they sold without grandfathering current accounts.

I'd gladly pay $90 a month for service on VZ and AT&T combined. As I mentioned, Straight Talk has AT&T now for $45, so just add VZ on the sim and put it in an unlocked iPhone that has both GSM and CDMA enabled. Add LTE to that, and you've really got something.

I hope that is the least they have in mind. Maybe even Woz could carry just one phone then!

**Airforcekid** · 05-02-2012, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by daleraver

I'm not too sure Sprint has the bandwidth available to be wholesaleing it to an MVNO. They announced they are cutting back on some of the Unlimited Plans they sold without grandfathering current accounts.

I'd gladly pay $90 a month for service on VZ and AT&T combined. As I mentioned, Straight Talk has AT&T now for $45, so just add VZ on the sim and put it in an unlocked iPhone that has both GSM and CDMA enabled. Add LTE to that, and you've really got something.

I hope that is the least they have in mind. Maybe even Woz could carry just one phone then!

They are already giving it to virgin mobile and straight talk virgin mobile even offers unlimited mobile broadband devices they would drop them for apple in a heartbeat.