AT&T Hoping For An iPhone Halo Effect

More than anything else (increased ARPU, music sales etc) AT&T is hoping that the iPhone will attract customers from other carriers and reduce the number of its own customers leaving. It’s putting a lot into this — the fact that the AT&T board had to approve the carrier running the iPhone shows just how much Apple is demanding from its carrier partner. This article from Computerworld via Macworld suggests that customers won’t even have to buy the expensive iPhone for AT&T to see a benefit. “The iPhone will have a halo effect that will bring people into the [AT&T] store,” (Tole Hart, a research director for Gartner) said. “It makes AT&T a cool brand.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean that those new customers will fork over $500 for an iPhone, Hart said. Once they’re attracted to the AT&T brand, they could just as easily buy other, less expensive models”.

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