AT&T talks about life after iPhone: Exclusivity ending soon?

AT&T announced mixed results this week during an earnings call: landlines continue their downward spiral while iPhone activations were up. Perhaps the most interesting news for consumers was talk of life after the iPhone exclusivity has ended. Could this mean a Verizon iPhone or other carrier in the US could be up sooner than expected?

While the iPhone is driving new customers to AT&T, it is not clear that AT&T is making a bundle off it. After all, even the 3.2 million new iPhone activations couldn’t offset the decrease in landlines for the company. While being the exclusive carrier for the iconic phone carries a bunch of brand cache, AT&T may not be earning the return they were hoping for. Management breached the issue of iPhone non-exclusivity on this call.

“Even if we lose exclusivity [of the iPhone], we will be the only carrier with HSPA 7.2 [a network specification being deployed at AT&T] and [new devices] will work on our network faster,” AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said.

The groundwork for the new marketing angle for a non-exclusive iPhone is already being laid down. De la Vega stressed that AT&T is the network that “works best” for the iPhone and new Android devices. He touted the ability to connect voice and data simultaneously. ComputerWorld along with many industry watchers expect exclusivity to run out mid-2010.

What could this mean for you? If industry watchers are right, the announcement would likely come at the iPhone refresh in June. Hold out until then on committing to another new phone. By then, Verizon will have a track record with the Android phones, so you won’t get hit with paying the early adopters fee should the Verizon iPhone be a no-show. With the marketing tack AT&T is taking, it looks clear to me that there will be an end to the iPhone exclusivity and this is AT&Ts way of preparing analysts for that day.

Read [ComputerWorld]