Wired will be running an article in its upcoming August issue that will shed some light on the rather difficult relationship between Apple and AT&T. While it is always difficult to determine how accurate such reports are, the article promises to provide background information why AT&T seems to be falling of what the iPhone really would need.
Apparently, Apple is not as happy with AT&T as it is publicly stated by the company. According to the article Jobs considered dropping AT&T “more than a dozen times”. It isn’t difficult to figure out what the differences between the two companies really are – it comes down to data capability and affordability. For example, Apple wanted tethering to be included in the data plan, AT&T wanted extra money – which makes sense, as AT&T’s cellular network has been brought down to its knees due heavy data usage and extra charges would create a barrier for additional data use (and deliver extra revenue, of course.)
We can only imagine how much the two are arguing over Facetime and its availability on the 3G network.
There is also some information on the never ending rumors of a Verizon iPhone. The article states that Apple considered switching to Verizon several times, but concluded that the different chip sizes and the tight iPhone design would require Apple to create a CDMA iPhone from the ground up. The article isn’t out yet, but it is worth the read when published.