Lawyers.
Contract terms.

"Oxford" <linuxlovesosx@superart.com> wrote in message
news:linuxlovesosx-432F91.12591301122007@mpls-nnrp-03.inet.qwest.net...
> This rings true of what I've been saying all along, it appears even AT&T
> is now scared of Apple and its business intentions...
>
> Keep in mind, the iPhone is only one small update away from making EVERY
> iPhone compatible with VoIP, then simply dropping the old cell network
> like a hot potato.
>
> AT&T needs to be very careful here, Apple is a much stronger company, so
> they need to play nice or end up like IBM.
>
> ---
>
> Important Parts Here:
>
> What I believe is troubling the relationship between AT&T and Apple is
> the upcoming auction for 700-MHz wireless spectrum and AT&T's discovery
> that -- as I have predicted for weeks -- Apple will be joining Google in
> bidding. AT&T thought its five-year "exclusive" iPhone agreement with
> Apple would have precluded such a bid, but that just shows how poorly
> Randall Stephenson understood Steve Jobs. Steve always hurts his friends
> to see how much they really love him, so AT&T probably should have
> expected this kind of corporate body blow.
>
> To his credit, Stephenson took the dispute to the streets this way,
> showing he isn't intimidated by Jobs. It was a bold and rare response
> for big business and was definitely unexpected by Cupertino, which won't
> underestimate AT&T again.
>
> I'm not privy to any inside details here, but there are two ways I can
> see Jobs rationalizing his auction position and they aren't necessarily
> exclusive. He could claim to intend the 700-MHz auction participation as
> a pure investment, just a good use for the $30+ billion Apple has
> squirreled away.
>
> Nah.
>
> Or Jobs could tell AT&T that Apple is investing solely in a DATA network
> for which it has no voice ambitions. Maybe all MacBooks will soon get
> 700-MHz access cards.
>
> This excuse rings truer, but of course it would still be a scam on
> Steve's part.
>
> It would not surprise me at all if this were the case and when the
> 700-MHz network is finally up and running Jobs claims astonishment that
> the most popular data application is Voice over IP, a direct competitor
> to AT&T Wireless. This may be part of the reason why Apple has been so
> slow approving third-party iPhone applications. Wouldn't your first
> application be a VoIP client?
>
> ---
>
> Full Article Here:
>
> http://snipurl.com/1uh83
>
> -