The consumer obsession with Apple products is hurting American regional carriers, even though Apple is not the best device on the market.
That was a major thrust of discussion at the Competitive Carrier Association’s 2015 Global Expo this week in Atlanta. CCA is an association of many smaller regional and rural cell phone carriers that exist outside of the “duopolistic” nature of the dominate nationwide carriers AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless.
Smaller carriers with smaller budgets often have to wait longer for access to products such as Apple iPhones. The issue is especially confounding since regional carriers are able to nearly immediately furnish customers with devices that are arguably of equal or superior quality to Apple products.
Customers, especially technologically forward-leaning customers, want Apple products for no other reason than the product is Apple, and thus the latest and greatest thing. Industry insiders admit that Apple’s main advantage doesn’t rest in the specs of its technology, but in its fixation on aesthetically pleasing and an user-friendly interface.
Apple is also unique in that its first smartphone was released seven years ago, and thus allowed Apple to instill itself as the “must have” brand for younger users. These users have proceeded to come of age with Apple products, but also have remained bound to AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless contracts because of the offer of iPhone upgrades.
There is dim hope that more educated customers may shrug off their Apple products and switch to cheaper, higher performance devices, but that hope is extremely slim considering Apple has become so well entrenched not just in the U.S. market, but also globally. Some rivals have attempted to counter that connection by offering to pay off early termination fees or remaining device payments should a customer switch their carrier loyalty.
Every year millions of foreign students studying in the U.S. migrate home on holiday with suitcases stuffed full of iPhones. In 2012, a Chinese student sold his kidney in a bid to buy an iPhone and iPad. Apple mania is not just present overseas. Every year thousands of people line up days in advance for an opportunity to purchase the latest Apple technology.
Recent legislation mandating the unlocking of devices could be the best chance for small carriers to remain competitive, as is the renewed concept of financing and renting devices to users. This allows companies to minimize market capital sunk into acquiring new devices.
It seemed to be the general consensus among CCA conference participants that Apple will remain the dominant force in the device market for the foreseeable future, challenged only by Android and Samsung.
Jeff Hawn was born in 1991 and represents the “millennial generation,” the people who have spent their entire lives wired and wireless. His adult life has revolved around cellphones, the Internet, video chat and Google. Hawn has a degree in international relations from American University, and has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Russia. He represents the most valuable, but most discerning, market for wireless companies: the people who have never lived without their products, but are fickle and flighty in their loyalty to one company or product. He’ll be sharing his views – and to a certain extent the views of his generation – with RCR Wireless News readers, hoping to bridge the generational divide and let the decision makers know what’s on the mind of this demographic.
