Still, the agreement has had its benefits (larger margins, more creative freedom, better coordination, less carriers to deal with), and if Apple can find a long-term monetary justification for extending the agreement with AT&T, it will. However, as it stands today, AT&T remains the iPhone’s biggest barrier to mass adoption, and Apple knows it. So does AT&T.
That’s why Friday’s MMS launch is so important. It may very well be AT&T’s last chance to prove to Apple that it deserves to renew its extremely lucrative exclusivity contract. If AT&T slows or crashes during the influx of MMS, AT&T will have dug itself into an even deeper perception hole. It won’t have another shot to prove that it can handle the stress that more iPhones will bring, and Apple would likely bow to customer pressure and strike deals with other carriers.
However, if AT&T can keep afloat, despite millions of iPhone users sending MMS messages at once because of the novelty, it will have demonstrated that its recent upgrades were successful and that it could very well support the iPhone’s growth into the future. It will also be on the path to reconciliation with its many less-than-thrilled customers.
I totally agree. If AT&T botches the MMS rollout today, there are going to be even more unhappy iPhone customers.
At the end of the day, Apple needs their customers to be happy far more than they need their service partners to be happy.