Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
One in Four iPhones is Unlocked
According to reports, one in four iPhones in America have been unlocked to work on other networks.
The iPhone, which received a highly anticipated launch last summer, is only available on one network in each country. In the UK, the iPhone is available on O2, although AT&T is the only network in America that offers the iPhone to its users.
A study by Bernstein Research revealed that around one million iPhones, which is around 27% of those sold last year, were adapted to work on other networks. A study by another analyst firm, Piper Jaffray & Co., also seems to confirm this view. It estimated that around 850,000 iPhones, which is around 25 per cent, were unlocked last year for use on other networks. Apple recently admitted that the number of iPhones that have been unlocked in the US is "significant," although neither Apple nor AT&T have commented on the findings of these studies.
Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Bernstein Research, said that the large number of unlocked phones in the USA would be problematic for Apple, as well as AT&T. As Apple receives a percentage of every iPhone user’s AT&T monthly tariff, losing iPhone users to other networks could cause them to lose a considerable amount of income. In fact, Sacconaghi estimates that each unlocked iPhone will generate around 50 per cent less revenue and about 75 per cent less overall profit than a locked phone that is running on the correct network. This means that if Apple manages to sell 10 million American iPhones in 2008, a massive 30 per cent of them will be unlocked, costing Apple around £251 million in lost revenue. Sacconaghi calls this problem a "significant strategic dilemma for Apple."
Many analysts are wondering how long Apple can maintain the iPhone’s single network exclusivity. Vodafone recently took the firm to court in Germany to try and overturn T-Mobile’s exclusive rights to the product in that country, and similar cases are expected to follow.
Source:
BBC
Times
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