News
US consumers switching carrier for iPhone
Matt Grainger Oct 8 2008, 10:48am
Market watcher NPD says AT&T is reaping the harvest from fruit-based smartphone.
Thirty per cent of US consumers who purchased Apple’s iPhone between June and August switched from other networks to join AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the device.
A study, conducted by market researcher NPD, said the figure was seven per cent above the average switchover rate during the period.
The research found that of those customers who switched to AT&T, 47 per cent came from Verizon Wireless, while a further 24 per cent switched from T-Mobile.
Additionally, the advent of the iPhone 3G represented a significant boost for Apple’s market share.
Prior to the release of the 3G, iPhone sales accounted for 11 per cent of the consumer smartphone market. Once the 3G was made available, that market share increased to 17 per cent.
Director of industry analysis at NPD, Ross Rubin commented: “While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G has proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network.”
