Can You Hear Me Now, Steve Jobs?

Well, it looks like it's finally happening. After 4 years of speculation as to what cell phone carrier would be the next to hit the iPhone jackpot, we finally have a winner. Verizon, often seen as the front runner in the iPhone sweepstakes, will be the newest carrier to sell the universally praised smartphone. Let's see what this means for other carriers:

First, let's take a look at the winner. Verizon, already seen as the best carrier as far as price and coverage, now gains a HUGE weapon in its already impressive arsenal. Carrying both the Motorola Droid and the iPhone will be the combination that puts Verizon ahead of AT&T in the cell phone wars.

For AT&T, this is a huge blow. For 4 years, they've had the iPhone contract to themselves, and now their biggest rival, and possibly the only company with potential to knock them off the top of the mountain, carries the phone. AT&T hasn't prepared well for this moment, either. Their Android selection is lacking, and they haven't put very much energy into the rest of their phone lineup. It's as if the iPhone made AT&T more complacent. Seriously, have you seen their other phones? They're kid/bumbling parent friendly, sure, but the small section of the business market that AT&T currently has gets smaller. It wasn't a smart move at all, especially considering that analysts have been speculating since day one about which company would get the mighty iPhone next. AT&T also has an abusive relationship with many of their customers. Although many want to leave due to AT&T's superglue-like contracts with high cancellation fees, spotty coverage, terrible customer service, and overpriced plans, many customers can't because that means they'd have to get rid of their prized iPhones. I originally thought this would mean that customers would be more apt to bite the cancellation fee in order to transfer networks while taking their iPhones with them, but differences in signal frequencies and how each company translates data means that switching to Verizon requires that you buy a brand new iPhone. I'll keep you posted on any changes.

What this change means for other two major carriers, T-Mobile, and Sprint, is that they need to stick to their guns and stick it hard. Sprint has been broadcasting their 4G network for the past 6 months; they need to stick with that angle until other carriers begin to dabble in 4G. T-Mobile, on the pother hand, has been listed by some analysts as the first of the big 4 cell phone companies to die. What they need to do is start advertising their wide array of smartphones. Whether it be Android-based, Garmin, Motorola, or their trusty Sidekick (which badly needs a revamp and low low price point for the social media savvy), they have the biggest smartphone selection of all of the major carriers as well as a VERY affordable, flexible price point; they need to make sure that swing customers know that.

Anyways, that's all. I'll keep following this story as it unfolds, and we'll see how the iPhone shakes up the cell phone world once again.