iPhone 5 Sprint Release Date: AT&T CEO Not Worried by Competition
AT&T’s CEO seems confident that Sprint gaining the iPhone 5 will not change much when it comes to the company's place in the competitive market.
“Anytime there’s another competitor launching Apple’s hit device, the expectations for what would happen to the carrier that had it before is overblown,” said Randall Stephenson AT&T’s CEO at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference. “The competitive dynamic will be no different than last time.”
Stephenson feels that the effects of new carriers adding the iPhone to their lineup are “always overblown.”
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According to CEO, AT&T’s main advantage over the competition is that it is the only GSM provider of the iPhone in the U.S.
“I’m very confident that we’ll do very well with the new iPhone,” he added.
Stephenson did not flat out confirm the iPhone 5, but he did joke about Al Gore’s announcement concerning Apple releasing its next generation smartphone in October.
The CEO also confidently stated that he hopes the T-Mobile acquisition will be resolved with the U.S. Justice Department before the trial set for February 13.
Stephenson also noted the addition of a new “significant and meaningful player” in the smartphone market which is likely going to be Windows devices powered by Microsoft’s new Mango OS.
He does expect both Windows and new Blackberry devices to make a significant impact.
AT&T plans to release the Samsung Galaxy S2 on October 2.
The carrier received many complaints regarding its delay on releasing the device and AT&T finally confirmed the drop date yesterday.
AT&T is the second largest wireless service provider in the United States, second to Verizon.
It is also the original carrier of the iPhone which was not available to Verizon customers until 2011.
Despite AT&T being the first to sell the iPhone, Verizon still remained the number one carrier.
However, Apple achieved immense success when it made its signature smartphone available on Verizon.
Sprint may see some growth, but Apple will most likely become the bigger beneficiary out of the new partnership.
