Steve Jobs Wanted His Own Cell Carrier for the iPhone
Steve wanted to cut third-party carriers out of the equation when it came to the iPhone.
We know that Apple discussed the iPhone with several networks before launching it exclusively through AT&T. It's also widely believed that the company was in serious talks with Verizon before eventually signing a 5-year deal with AT&T. However, what we hadn't known up until now is that Apple CEO Steve Jobs originally wanted to launch his own network with unused Wi-Fi spectrum and bypass the carriers completely.
IDG reports that Venture Capitalist and 'wireless industry pioneer' John Stanton recently spoke at the Law Seminars International event in Seattle and revealed that Steve Jobs' plan in the beginning had been to launch his own cell network.
"He and I spent a lot of time talking about whether synthetically you could create a carrier using Wi-Fi spectrum. That was part of his vision," Stanton said.
Jobs is said to have given up on the idea after two years, in 2007, the same year that the iPhone launched. We know that the phone hit AT&T exclusively and was supposed to be exclusive to AT&T for five years. However, earlier this year, the iPhone 4 arrived on Verizon, and the iPhone 4S launched with availability through AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
Though Steve may have scrapped his idea for his own network, Stanton maintains that the former Apple CEO made a huge impact on the wireless industry regardless. Apple's iMessage, similar to BBM, is just one of the ways that Apple is stealing revenue that carriers would have otherwise been able to call their own thanks to users SMSing and MMSing each other. It's a power shift that Stanton says would concern him if he were a carrier.
However, the question remains, would people be willing to move to a newly established Apple-branded network for the iPhone?
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Jobs ... Wanting complete control over everything?! ... Nooooo.
Jane, please put that poking stick down...
Wanted own cell carrier, wanted to kill Android, wanted this, wanted that - dead now, so he gets nothing, and that's good, I say.
Last time I checked, iMessage was free. Calling it stealing revenue isn't really true then. More like saving consumers money from the greedy cell carriers.
Steve Jobs was an egotistical megalomaniac... gee, there's a frakking surprise!
"However, what we hadn't known up until now is that Apple CEO Steve Jobs originally wanted to launch his own network with unused Wi-Fi spectrum and bypass the carriers completely."
Last I knew he was dead...did he buy his way out of hell?
He also wanted to clone himself, that's why he didn't support economically his daughter, her mother had to go to welfare.
I'm growing tired of word "vision" used in every article about Steve Jobs.
glad he died before he decided to take over the world...
i really wouldnt want to know the fee a services like this would charge to customers...
if the iphone cost around 500+ without contract. i imagine That this service would be around 200 usd for 400 monthly minute and and 2gb of data. plus you would be blocked from streaming video which you would have to pay a different fee. and maybe the would charge from those sms
i really wouldnt want to know the fee a services like this would charge to customers...if the iphone cost around 500+ without contract. i imagine That this service would be around 200 usd for 400 monthly minute and and 2gb of data. plus you would be blocked for streaming video which you would have to pay a different fee. and maybe they would charge for those sms too
Hmmm...so many haters. I think the wallets have spoken. People like, love and admire Apple products. They cast their vote by buying Apple products over other competitors. It's really quite simple. Give people a great experience and a great product and they will come running. Carriers, infrastructure, complete control, etc DO NOT MATTER if consumers are happy with what they buy. I view most of the comments as sour grapes and whining. There is NOTHING that stops Microsoft, Dell, Sony and all the others from making better products and winning in the same Steve Jobs and Apple have done.
I'm not just a fan boy. I'm just a frustrated consumer looking for great products no matter whose label is on it.
Last time I checked, iMessage was free. Calling it stealing revenue isn't really true then. More like saving consumers money from the greedy cell carriers.
Its stealing revenue because instead of charging people for SMS or text plans, people are able to simple transfer messages over their network under data; with that, there's also support to send over Wi-Fi to eliminate the need for using a carriers 3G network all together.
Carriers may be greedy in terms of pricing of contracts, buts worse is having a single entity control every aspect (hardware, software, network etc). That gives the company the power to charge whatever they wanted for a single service.
That's greed if you ask me.
Edit:
Not to mention that Wi-Fi is an open standard with specifications designed from IEEE.
It would be illegal to take allocated Wi-Fi spectrum and charge money to use it.
Not surprised at all , i hate apple's natzi style control on things so im happy to say i don't own an apple product and won't own one in a foreseeable future.
Who cares what Steve Jobs wanted. Oh wait, his vast supply of morons who follow apple like brainless dead zombies.
Hmmm...so many haters. I think the wallets have spoken. People like, love and admire Apple products. They cast their vote by buying Apple products over other competitors. It's really quite simple. Give people a great experience and a great product and they will come running. Carriers, infrastructure, complete control, etc DO NOT MATTER if consumers are happy with what they buy. I view most of the comments as sour grapes and whining. There is NOTHING that stops Microsoft, Dell, Sony and all the others from making better products and winning in the same Steve Jobs and Apple have done. I'm not just a fan boy. I'm just a frustrated consumer looking for great products no matter whose label is on it.
Most of these whiners are kiddies that can't get a date, can't afford anything Apple, and have done nothing in their lives so look at respected people with envy.
Don't get me wrong, outside of some cool vintage Apple stuff (Apple IIe/IIgs, Lisa, etc...), I would never buy Apple, and never did until long after it was obsolete and thus collectible.
But, the market has spoken. Even reviewers recognize the iPhones are good to excellent, and iPad 2 as excellent, and they don't want to. Virtually every article that reports on quality, reports Apple's Macs on the top of the list. Virtually every poll shows Apple customers as happy.
When you're a miserable toad, you resent happy people. You resent things they have that you can't swing. You resent success, because it makes your own failures so much more painful by contrast. Apple represents success. The company is wildly successful, and the people that can afford their stuff and mostly successful. For the losers, this makes them feel bad about themselves, and they hate it because of it.
Don't let it bother you, these guys will keep posting as long as their utility company doesn't shut off their electricity, but they have no effect. The impotent ravings of the disenfranchised aren't convincing to anyone, except others of the same, who need no convincing.
Are you all absolutely nuts? I would give anything for a carrier free technology device.
The current players have been raping communication customers for a century.
$45 a month is what I pay ATT for data and tethering. $45 and that's only 4GB!!!
ATT and Verizon are a duopoly that is doing absolutely nothing but holding back the advancement of communication technology.
We'll probably hear of a lot more of these unorthodox ideas as he had many of them. He was a professional brainstormer and he had a knack for taking existing ideas and "expanding upon" them.
I'm sure some of the ideas, such as this one, will sound strange.
"Stay foolish" --- Steve Jobs.
When you're a miserable toad, you resent happy people. You resent things they have that you can't swing. You resent success, because it makes your own failures so much more painful by contrast.
This is 100% true. Unhappy or negative people are always looking for some crusade to join against something, because they want to bring others down to their level.
This is nothing new and has always happened. It's like the kids at your high school that didn't fit in with anyone, so they tried to spin it as it being their choice to not have friends or socialize, when in reality, they want nothing more than to fit in.
didn't he die? good riddance!
Not true on it being illegal to charge for wifi. If you build it you have the right to charge an access fee. look at wifi in hotels, and panera, you pay for it by being in the club, its not free. The wifi he is talking about is not the wifi we have in home he is talking about wifi based on a different standard that can be transmitted miles. this would require FCC approval and licensing as well as apple having to build a national network. Steve jobs new this was impossible since the towers are already owned and placed and he would have to pay the carriers rent to hang the equipment anyway. It’s not surprising he gave up on it, its not a core competency of apple and not within their business model to be a utility provider another point is he did not like rules, and that industry is VERY rules based, again not aligned with Apple philosophy. One thing about guys like him they throw a lot out there and sees what sticks, he had a lot of crazy ideas, then he had the brilliant ones.
Most of these whiners are kiddies that can't get a date, can't afford anything Apple, and have done nothing in their lives so look at respected people with envy. Don't get me wrong, outside of some cool vintage Apple stuff (Apple IIe/IIgs, Lisa, etc...), I would never buy Apple, and never did until long after it was obsolete and thus collectible. But, the market has spoken. Even reviewers recognize the iPhones are good to excellent, and iPad 2 as excellent, and they don't want to. Virtually every article that reports on quality, reports Apple's Macs on the top of the list. Virtually every poll shows Apple customers as happy. When you're a miserable toad, you resent happy people. You resent things they have that you can't swing. You resent success, because it makes your own failures so much more painful by contrast. Apple represents success. The company is wildly successful, and the people that can afford their stuff and mostly successful. For the losers, this makes them feel bad about themselves, and they hate it because of it. Don't let it bother you, these guys will keep posting as long as their utility company doesn't shut off their electricity, but they have no effect. The impotent ravings of the disenfranchised aren't convincing to anyone, except others of the same, who need no convincing.
I especially like the stupid accusation of "not being able to afford anything Apple". My gaming rig costs like $1900 by now; I could've easily bought a Mac, but I chose something that actually does useful things for its price.
This is 100% true. Unhappy or negative people are always looking for some crusade to join against something, because they want to bring others down to their level.This is nothing new and has always happened. It's like the kids at your high school that didn't fit in with anyone, so they tried to spin it as it being their choice to not have friends or socialize, when in reality, they want nothing more than to fit in.
Another bunch of ridiculous nonsense; the last thing I want is to "fit in" with Apple iSheep
Edit:Not to mention that Wi-Fi is an open standard with specifications designed from IEEE.It would be illegal to take allocated Wi-Fi spectrum and charge money to use it.
The spectrum is unused and Wi-FI is a specification not a spectrum
Apparently Steve wanted to own the world
Well, some people already buy phones with worse cameras, smaller screen, no expandable storage, no removable battery, no 4G and no Flash.
I'm sure the same people would have no problem with a brand new cell carrier with a fruit-based logo.
...
Of course the next step after this would be to ensure you could only speak to, message, email or post Facebook messages to other iBranded users.
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Then after that would be to seal themselves off from the rest of the world in a self-contained colony with Rev Jim Jones and a huge vat of Kool-aid and then God willing they all off themselves.
...
Amen
Apple and Proprietary go hand in hand, frankly i am surprised it never happened
"However, the question remains, would people be willing to move to a newly established Apple-branded network for the iPhone? "
if that network wasn't called att, verizon, sprint, etc and it ad decent coverage and unlimited data - sure. the bastardos att and similar nickel and dime for text messages, calls abroad ("we have a deal with a local carrier") and other bull sh!t. customer care my behind.
The spectrum is unused and Wi-FI is a specification not a spectrum if someone buys the unused space they can do what they want with it, even now businesses will charge you to use their Wi-Fi networks.
Do you know how Wi-Fi works?
Wi-Fi is an unlicensed standard created by IEEE. Apple can't license the use to use the 2.4 or 5 GHz bands to create a network that covers the entire US. You realize the typical range of a Wi-Fi and how many hotspots or nodes would need to be created to reach the entire US?
If Apple planned on charging money for this, they couldn't just tap onto free unlicensed hotspots.
"The segment of the radio frequency spectrum used by 802.11 varies between countries. In the US, 802.11a and 802.11g devices may be operated without a license, as allowed in Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Frequencies used by channels one through six of 802.11b and 802.11g fall within the 2.4 GHz amateur radio band. Licensed amateur radio operators may operate 802.11b/g devices under Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations, allowing increased power output but not commercial content or encryption."
Businesses don't charge you for using their mobile hotspots. Their Wi-Fi networks come from them creating a mobile network (similiar to how a personal home network would work) by using your internet provided by your ISP.
Businesses can't not provide a Wireless network for use for commercial purposes.
Well, some people already buy phones with worse cameras, smaller screen, no expandable storage, no removable battery, no 4G and no Flash.
- droid phones run like crap nuff said ..people want apple because of the quality not quantity
Steve Job actually wanted its own Country for his Apple eco-system. I'm sure most the Apple fans would follow him.