Apple as a company are hitting walls expanding their business, having a carrier would give them another point of innovation
Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
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Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#2Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#3No device manufacturer would ever be permitted to own a national carrier like that, nor vice-versa. It gives too many opportunities for monopolizing the customer -- like there aren't enough of those already!
Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#4No device manufacturer would ever be permitted to own a national carrier like that, nor vice-versa. It gives too many opportunities for monopolizing the customer -- like there aren't enough of those already!
What if Apple just operated a MVNO like Google Fi does?
Why would they want to halve* their market cap?
Lol.
(*: ok 2T vs. 3T)
Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#5Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#6So let's make the case to shareholders: We buy Verizon, with a $180 billion market cap, for a substantial premium; assume $115 billion of their debt; there's an investment into 6G on the horizon; this hopefully won't anger any major players in the Android market (e.g. Samsung) from abandoning the network; and this will somehow magically reach the break-even point. Obviously, absurd.
Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#7No device manufacturer would ever be permitted to own a national carrier like that, nor vice-versa. It gives too many opportunities for monopolizing the customer -- like there aren't enough of those already!
What if Apple just operated a MVNO like Google Fi does?
Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if Apple just operated a MVNO like Google Fi does?
MVNOs are like second or third-tier citizens on mobile carriers, why would Apple hand a lever like that to, say, AT&T?
Presumably that's because Google was able to negotiate favorable terms from T-Mobile. I assume Apple would be even better at that.
Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
??? Why would they want to halve* their market cap? Lol. (*: ok 2T vs. 3T)
What do you mean? Why would operating a MVNO lower their market cap?
Why would they want to follow a strategy that is evidently worse? Lol.
Re: Ask HN: Why hasn't Apple bought a cell carrier like AT&T or Verizon?
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean? Why would operating a MVNO lower their market cap?
Apple has a 3 trillion market cap with a 1/100th of the products that Google makes. Why would they want to follow a strategy that is evidently worse? Lol.
I would love to see a first party Apple cell plan. It'd be better if they owned the whole network, but a MVNO would be better than nothing.
That doesn't mean Apple has to copy Google in any other ways.