AT&T's activator getting jacked by iPhones that are never activated
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 12th 2008 10:19PM
posted May 12th 2008 10:19PM
The effect of unlocked iPhones on the wireless industry is perhaps wider than anyone could've guessed, with Synchronoss -- the company that handles AT&T's activations -- reporting that its growth expectations for 2008 have been visibly impacted by the gap between iPhones sold and iPhones activated. The problem stems from the fact that Synchronoss is paid only for iPhones that actually end up tied into AT&T, and since the unlocking phenomenon is pretty widespread within the iPhone community, the company's feeling the heat. Making matters worse, they've lost the premium they get for activating iPhones versus other AT&T devices in the first quarter, so all told, it's a gloom-and-doom report. Maybe they can make some of that cash back by... oh, selling unlocked iPhones. We're just trying to help out here.[Via Silicon Alley Insider]
Well you're not helping, OKAY!?
Geez Louis.
it should be Geez Louise
at first i was wondering if they could somehow legally hit apple for some of that cash back, blaming apple for the fault in their product or blaming the structure of their deal with the carrier.
but then i thought, wait a sec... if apple did sell unlocked iphones, they still would not have been activated on at&t. lol. and if iphones couldnt be unlocked, then those people wouldn't have bought the phones then. (or would have just imported them from somewhere else)
so really, Synchronoss is full of crap and lost nothing at all! those are phones that, if not capable of being unlocked, would have never been sold anyway, thus still not bringing in any cash regardless. lol
nice way to confuse people into believing your excuse for poor results by mixing numbers with a known industry "problem," Synchronoss.
@youngcalihottie
What youre saying is partially correct. Dont forget that many people waited till the iPhone was unlocked to buy. However, if the iPhone had never been unlocked, many people would have switched to AT T, and, then, Synchronoss would have made more money. I know, the difference is not that big, and there werent that many switchers, but the situation would have been slightly different without the unlock. And that small difference, when were talking about millions of dollars, is not that small.
@youngcalihottie
When I was reading the first paragraph of your comment, I already had formed a response in my head and almost started to write until I got through the second paragraph. lol. I completely agree. This is complete and utter bull$hit.
I would guess at least 90% of the unlocked iPhones sold ended up either out of the country or to consumers who would have never purchased one if it had not been possible to unlock it. I would bet that there is only a minor amount of users who purchased the iPhone to unlock it and use it on their existing T-Mobile contract who would have actually signed up with AT&T if they were unable to unlock the device. I'd bet they would represent less than 10% of the "missing" iPhones.
Also, I have heard many people on forums stating that they purchased an iPhone and have hacked it to use it only as an Ipod/Wifi browser until their current cellphone contract with a different carrier expires. So they would account for some of the gap as well.
Honestly AT&T and their insane fees are the only thing keeping me from iPhone is AT&T.
I hate how Apple treats the iPhone like it's just a simple purchase. like an iPod. It's not that simple. There are contracts, and the fact that AT&T is quickly becoming a monopoly in this country. It would have been so much better if apple just Sold a PHONE, and not the phone and forcing the carrier
AT&T wants $600 from me just to sign up. that's NOT including the cost of the Phone.
Fix your credit, assuming thats what it is, but yea, they are a bit nasty when it comes to credit checks from what i hear.
AT&T aint that bad though jeez, i've been with them a year now, been great. I left USCC and gave up a boat load of minutes too, would do it again. I now pay less and can do a boatload more with my devices, as well as have 3G, baby!
the whole itunes activation thing is a crock,.
@loosely_coupled
lol ya u gotta read it all :P
so ya, this whole thing is a bunch of crap. lame excuse for low revenue.
The thing about the 3G ipohne is, the 3g isnt going to work on tmo (which is probably the bulk of where they are going on the US) unless the 3g iphone offers something you dont need to use within 3G like a real GPs mapping program, then there would not be much of a point of unlocking it for tmo.
or maybe its just the taste.
Actually T-MO has already rolled out there 3G network just voice for now no Data...
what are you talking about, data works on their 3G network....
pez obviously knows what he's talking about more than you two. tmo uses different bands for 3g than att. 3g iphone will work on att's 3g bands.
I imagine the 3G iPhone won't support the AWS bands where T-Mobile will be deploying their 3G data.
exactly
Wrong I have an Unlocked iPhone and T-mobile 3G Network works fine in the US States You just have to call T-mobile so you have access you to there 3G network they can run the same network as AT&T but like you said just different bands..... How do you think they're running there iPhones in Germany on EDGE or GPRS or GSM.... NOT!!!!!! oh wait i work for T-MO so i don't know what i'm talking about....
MY 2 CENTS:
In response to all the comments here:
1. Phone was/is cutting edge - there was no guarantees of mass adoption, so getting a carrier to foot a portion of the marketing bill was a great idea.
2. marketing 101 - what killed crispy cream? What is hurting starbucks?
Excessive growth and widespread retail distribution. If its not "special" anymore, then the average consuming American, does not want it or cant justify paying the premium. By sticking with 1 carrier, they kept it "special". (I can buy starbucks anywhere now - its not special).
3. OK - so now the cats at the proverbial bag - Apple should embrace this slowly by sticking with AT&T for the new Iphone and offering the unlock service for the remaining V1 iphone inventory. No idea what the shelf life of the V1 will be, so that may be a useless point.
4. Synchronoss - LOL - they should have cut a deal with minimums. If they did not, its there problem. Live and Learn.
The link between the cutting edge device maker, and the service provider
willing to get behind it with its good infrastructure and marketing dollars, makes perfect sense. The less perceptive Synchronoss will have to be equally brilliant moving forward.
Rox
PS - Switched from a HTC Dash, to a Wing to an iPhone - All on Tmob and loving it.
...I was under the impression that the low-carb craze killed Krispy Kreme. That's what the company itself attributed it's first-ever quarterly loss to a few years ago.
If ATT/Apple gets rid of the credit requirement for activating the iPhone for existing customers...that might be one less reason for those thinking of buying an iPhone to unlock the device.
Your already a customer in good standing: you pay your bill monthly or service is turned off...why force someone thru a credit check that is already a customer?
Apple doesn't charge the fees if you don't pass the credit check AT&T does.
Bottom line AT&T & Apple have a contract, Apple is responsible to lock down the phone so that a hack can't unlock it. This is poor coding on Apples part.
Apple just looks at is as well the phone sold so oh well AT&T is the one getting burnt for it. AT&T could really push this & cause some major grief for Apple. AT&T is the exclusive US carrier. So iPhone must be locked to only work with exclusive carriers so importing can't be a bypass.
Not to mention Apple has set it as Not for Resale. AT&T can push this as well. Any company selling a iPhone is breaking the law especially selling unlocked versions.