AT&T Customers Remaining Loyal as Verizon and Sprint Gain iPhone
MarketWatch reports on comments from AT&T executive Glen Lurie noting that the carrier's churn rate has remained steady since Verizon and Sprint began offering the iPhone earlier this year. Some observers had expected that AT&T might experience a significant amount of customer defection once it lost iPhone exclusivity in the United States, as the carrier has been the target of a number of complaints about network coverage and other issues.
"Churn has not moved at all," said Glen Lurie, president of emerging devices for AT&T. Churn refers to the number of customers who cancel services.
Lurie said the carrier's relationship with Apple Inc. AAPL +0.06% , maker of the iPhone, has been positive, and they've had record-breaking sales of the latest iPhone 4S which has led to some supply issues. U.S. consumers are looking at a week to two week wait times to get the latest iPhone 4S from AT&T, he said.
AT&T continues to hold several advantages over its rivals when it comes to the iPhone, with one of the major ones being network data speed. With the iPhone 4S supporting HSPA+ technology, AT&T can offer significantly faster speeds for the iPhone than Verizon and Sprint can on their CDMA networks. Sprint users in particular have complained of very slow data speeds on the iPhone 4S so far.
As the only GSM-based iPhone carrier in the United States, AT&T is also able to offer the iPhone 3GS free on contract, while Verizon and Sprint start with the $99 8 GB iPhone 4 as their low-end devices. While the pricing difference becomes negligible once the total cost of a two-year service contract is accounted for, customers are still attracted to the low upfront cost of the iPhone 3GS, as evidenced by the fact that it remained the second best-selling smartphone in the U.S. behind the iPhone 4 heading into the iPhone 4S launch.
While a loss of iPhone exclusivity has apparently proven to not be an issue for AT&T's customer retention, the expansion to Verizon and Sprint has had an effect on the one major U.S. carrier still not offering the iPhone: T-Mobile USA. That carrier noted as part of its earnings discussion last week that customer churn due to the iPhone continues to be an "area of concern" for T-Mobile.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last.
Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski
The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports.
The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu.
This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...
