On the heels of a survey this week that claims most iPhone users in the U.S. are perfectly content to stick with AT&T should Apple’s handset wind up with other carriers, the telco’s CEO also appears to be thinking, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
AppleInsider is reporting that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson thinks the company will do just fine even after their iPhone exclusivity with Apple ends. While speaking at Goldman Sachs-hosted investor conference on Tuesday, the executive admitted that the iPhone 4 was a big chunk of the wireless division’s revenue, but with two-thirds of the device’s users locked into two-year contracts, there’s little to worry about in the short term.
"If you look at the iPhone base, about 80 percent is either on a Family Talk plan or in a business relationship with us," Stephenson revealed at the conference. "Those customers tend to be very sticky. They don't churn very quickly."
That means that fewer users would be enticed into jumping ship to Verizon Wireless, which many believe is the next stop in the U.S. for the iPhone -- and that could come as as early as January, 2011, analysts report.
Stephenson’s comments come on the heels of a Credit Suisse study which revealed that only 23 percent of AT&T’s current iPhone customers would switch to Verizon “if given the chance.” Even fewer would defect to Sprint or T-Mobile, but the good news for AT&T is that a full 63 percent claim they will be staying put with their current telco.
Of course, no one outside of Apple and AT&T knows for sure when their exclusive arrangement with the iPhone actually comes to an end, but one thing is for sure: It won’t last forever, and with the iPhone turning five years old next year, it will likely go to other carriers here sooner than later. Hang tight, Verizon fans!
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