Thursday, February 23, 2012

T-Mobile: Competitive Disadvantage To Lack iPhone

T-Mobile announced its 2011 operating results yesterday. Dominating the results seemed to be the loss of contract customers. The announcement is especially interesting because it repeatedly mentions the iPhone 4S launch. That a cell carrier might mention the iPhone 4S seven (7) times in an earnings announcement would be less remarkable if that carrier actually carried the product. In explaining the late-in-the-year reversal of its earlier success in reducing losses of contract customers (as opposed to prepaid customers), T-Mobile blamed 4th-quarter iPhone 4S launches by three competitors.

Offering Apple's iPhones may be expensive, but it may be the price carriers pay to keep customers.

No comments: