Why is AT&T Still Apple’s Only U.S. Carrier?
What’s going on with AT&T? First there’s the security breach relating to iPad customers, then there’s the crashed pre-order site for the iPhone 4. Not to mention, the decision to retract the all-you-can-eat data plan for the iPad 3G, going to an option that’ll cost power users even more money — apparently because almost no one was using their 5GB/month caps.
Wait, there’s more. Today there’s word of a breach with the iPhone 4 pre-order site showing the wrong addresses and credit card info to some people, right near the end of the pre-order process. Some people managed to catch the problem but who knows how many people didn’t? If you get a free iPhone 4 in the mail between now and July 14th, you’ll know why. (Just to be clear: it’s probably illegal if you keep the phone.) Not enough for you? AT&T has been canceling some completed iPhone 4 pre-orders, but they told Electronista it was because some customers ordered twice, having not received confirmation of the first completed order.
Wow, Apple. And you still want to have just one carrier in the USA? I mean sure there were 10 times the preorders of iPhone 4 than for 3GS last year, but what about all the security breaches in the matter of just a few weeks? The iPad breach goes beyond the release of contact info for 114,000 customers (including highly-placed politicians), and some experts say it might be worse than first thought, possibly allowing hackers to track the physical location of the devices.
If Apple has all the muscle it does, I’m surprised that CEO Steve Jobs has not met with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson – the man who claims that his company will be number one in mobile broadband by 2015. Does that mean they’re not number one now? If not, they why have Apple partnered with them?