AT&T Already Attacking Verizon iPhone: “Not Sure iPhone Users Are Ready For Life In The Slow Lane”
AT&T is already attacking Verizon over the iPhone. — After we wrote about Verizon's plan to offer unlimited data plans, AT&T PR boss Larry Solomon reached out with a statement …
Context & Ripple Effects
Verizon had been preparing for an iPhone challenge since 2009 and had already used the device in its advertising attacks on AT&T. By late 2010, coverage was reassessing the iPhone threat to AT&T; the immediate contest is being framed around Verizon's planned unlimited-data offer and AT&T's claim of network-speed superiority.
First-order effects
- AT&T turns Verizon's unlimited-data proposal into a performance question, positioning its own network experience as the counterweight to Verizon's pricing message.
- Verizon gains a clear consumer-facing contrast—unlimited data—but must defend its network against AT&T's public criticism.
Second-order effects
- The carriers' competition shifts toward data-plan value and network-quality claims, making service performance rather than handset access the focal point of their messaging.
- iPhone shoppers considering a Verizon option face a more explicit trade-off between unlimited-data pricing and AT&T's speed claims.
Third-order effects
- If an iPhone becomes available on Verizon, carrier differentiation is likely to rest less on exclusive handset access and more on network capacity and data-plan policy.
- The exchange points to a U.S. wireless market in which high-profile devices amplify competition over the economics and perceived quality of mobile data.
The trend: The anticipated erosion of handset exclusivity is pushing wireless carriers to compete more directly on data allowances and network performance.