Analyst: AT&T’s Grip on iPhone Slips in 2010
By Jared Newman
AT&T’s exclusive deal to carry the iPhone will come to an end some time next year, at least according to one research analyst. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster says Apple is seeing the benefits of non-exclusive agreements in France, where the company has adopted a multi-carrier approach. Compared to a 15 percent market share when working solely with Orange, the iPhone now has a 40 percent market share in France. Munster says the benefits of selling so many more iPhones outweighs the extra per-unit revenues of exclusive partnerships, so it won’t be long before Apple looks to get out of its deal with AT&T. If Munster is right, a big question remains: How long do we have to wait until the existing deal runs out? [via AppleInsider]
