AT&T no longer has the market cornered with the iPhone. Apple and Verizon have signed an agreement to sell the phones through Verizon. The agreement ends AT&T’s exclusivity on the phone. They have been the sole provider and servicer of the iPhone since its introduction in 2007.

AT&T has relied heavily on the iPhone for growth. Investors worry that subscribers will leave in droves once they have a options for plan pricing. The saving grace may be that most iPhone customers have family plans that are more difficult to get out of.

Then there are the known issues with AT&T’s network problems. Verizon runs on a 3G network that is more reliable and faster. A faster network means faster data downloads and quicker transmissions, key elements for a smart phone user.

Verizon will debut their version of the popular phone this week with it available to customers in late January. There are no planned changes to the voice and data plans available to Verizon customers today.

Unfortunately for the Android market the unveil date and the ship date could prove problematic with their planned launch of the 4G capable phones. Already much of the publicity has been downplayed since Verizon decided to host the iPhone event a mere two days after CES.

 

Tags: apple iphone, verizon, at&t, andriod market
Categories: Stuff