Telstra and the iPhone - what a bunch of hypocrites
July 9, 2008I distinctly recall Telstra dismissing the iPhone last year - “stick to knitting” were their exact words.
We’re not really sure what Telstra has to gain by dissing the iPhone, given the fact that it happens to be the only carrier in Australia to support EDGE, making them a natural fit for carrying the device, but diss it they did, with operations chief Greg Winn letting Apple know just how out-of-place he thinks the company is in the phone world: “There’s an old saying - stick to your knitting - and Apple is not a mobile phone manufacturer, that’s not their knitting.” We wonder if anyone tried that line the last time Apple pulled something like this, with that little “iPod” thing of theirs a few years back.
So Telstra didn’t think the iPhone was very profitable. And made it abundantly clear they had no interest in such a useless device.
And what do we find almost 18 months later?
Telstra’s decision to offer the iPhone points to an imminent release of a highly-anticipated 3G model.
While there has been no official confirmation from Apple of a 3G iPhone, Telstra’s licensing of the handset strongly suggests the company intends to release a multi-frequency (850/2100MHz) HSDPA-capable iPhone to work with both Optus and Vodafone’s 3G networks, as well as Telstra’s Next G network.
What a bunch of hypocrites. Greg Winn is a member of the triumvirate that is in charge of Telstra. Even though I’m not a huge fan of iPhone, I’m an even less of a fan of Telstra or its business practices (which I’ve seen firsthand - it ain’t pretty).
You see, this isn’t just an example of a multinational company making a bad business call. It’s an example of a company with a national monopoly arrogantly dismissing and insulting an even bigger multinational company which could’ve been a powerful business ally. For once, Telstra came up against a company that it couldn’t destroy with its bullying tactics. And I hope Apple made them pay for it through the nose.
