Apple's popular iPhone has been bringing a lot of subscribers to AT&T in the U.S., but it seems the carrier is having trouble keeping them. A new survey by Morpace suggested that nearly half of AT&T's current iPhone users might switch to other carriers once AT&T loses its exclusive deal.
Market research firm Morpace surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers about their future iPhone purchase decision. The study found that among those who own an AT&T iPhone, 47 percent would consider buying the popular device from Verizon Wireless if that is possible. And about a third (34 percent) said they intended to upgrade to a non-AT&T iPhone when it becomes available through other operators.
Morpace also claimed that Verizon was the top priority when it comes to buying an iPhone. Out of all respondents, 29 percent (across all carriers) were somewhat or very likely to go for an iPhone that works on Verizon's network. Of those, more than half (51 percent) were existing Verizon subscribers, 23 percent were from AT&T, 22 percent were from Sprint, and 20 percent were from T-Mobile.
While the figures do not bode well for AT&T, they also reflect the dissatisfaction among customers with AT&T's network. Ever since the carrier became the sole iPhone U.S. provider three years ago, it has been receiving negative feedback about their network quality. As pointed out by Morpace in its report, a "sizeable percentage" of AT&T's iPhone owners are frustrated with the network coverage, dropped calls and other issues. It is obvious that the network is having problems handling the heavy data use by iPhone users.
Despite all the expectation and speculations floating around, there is still no official word on when, or whether, a Verizon iPhone will arrive. The latest rumor is that Verizon is preparing to offer a CDMA version of iPhone 4 in January 2011. If it is really the case, AT&T will have to come up with a strategy as soon as possible to prevent Verizon from snatching their subscribers.
No comments:
Post a Comment