Eliminate is probably not on the table (?). Reduce or, worse, equalize may be.
I've always said "Equalize" subsidies between handsets is the greatest risk in Apple's iPhone business, especially "equalizing" to zero subsidy. There's a lot of saber rattling now, but in then end, $1700 in contract revenue is well worth the $400 aqcuisition cost. Granted, it better to spend only $200 if you can get the same subscriber, but carriers can't claim that the subsidy-subscriber model is broken until their multibillion-dollar networks are full and oversubscribed. |
