This story is very interesting as one famous man’s dream helped the whole company to transform. We are talking about Steve Jobs AT&T deal that has truly mobilized and transformed this mobile carrier. It all began in 2006…
Apple was trying to design a smartphone, the first iPhone. Mr. Jobs wanted to learn about the device’s radio because he wished to develop a “really good phone.” So he asked Ralph de la Vega from Cingular Wireless [it later became the part of AT&T Inc.] for help as network had a huge manual that explained how to develop a mobile radio device optimized for its network.
The manual contained 1,000 pages, and de la Vega emailed it to Jobs though he was called “crazy” for doing this as people inside Cingular Wireless quickly learned that Apple got what it wanted without adhering to the specs. Mr. Ralph signed an agreement with Apple so he couldn’t describe the new phone to his bosses. Besides, this whole Steve Jobs AT&T deal was based on trust mostly.
A Win Bet on Steve Jobs
AT&T took the chance, and it managed to usher in the smartphone era when Verizon reportedly lost it. According to Forbes, Randall Stephenson, the company’s CEO, said that the the carrier was betting on Steve Jobs and not on the phone even though it was one little device that transformed the big company.
Of course, today Verizon still has a lot of benefits, yet Steve Jobs AT&T deal helped to double carrier’s traffic each year starting 2007. The mobile operator keeps spending much money developing its network and acquiring spectrum. The news states that this company has injected the most capitals into the American economy than other public firms.
One deal has changed everything. Thanks to the iPhone, AT&T started to develop the new 4G network. Yes, right now it ranks last among other huge U.S. mobile operators, but it is working and trying to improve its network and customer service.
The Perfect Deal
Mr. Stephenson is still assured that Steve Jobs AT&T deal was “the smartest thing” the company ever did. It was Stephenson who insisted to launch the new iPhone under the AT&T brand, and not Cingular Wireless. Thanks to this, even today users synonymously brand AT&T with Apple iPhone.
What did the deal bring the mobile carrier? The iPhone release allowed AT&T making its money back on customers in the first 5 months of the contract, as Apple agreed to let the company purchasing the smartphones up-front for $400 a unit and putting a 2-year contract on customers.
The 2012 brought over $120 billion sales to AT&T.
Plans for the Future
Modern smartphones are approaching saturation in America. About two-thirds of clients of AT&T have a smartphone or iPhone. The company is signing up fewer customers with each other year. Where does it plan to move?
According to Stephenson, it is time to mobilize everything. The carrier wants to work with farmers, automakers, families to push wireless sensors, automation, applications into everything possible. It is expanding its 4G LTE network across the country and investing into new fields. It goes through ups and downs, but is optimistic about the future.
The full story will be published in the issue of Forbes from January 21st, 2013.
