AT&T to lose 23% iPhone users to Verizon--report

Report also revealed that majority of customers are ready to wait till the end of their contract before they make the switch, but 3 percent customers are ready to make the switch even if they have to shell out $325 in early termination fee.

Ever since the launch of Apple’s iPhone, AT&T has been an exclusive carrier for the device in the United States.

However, Apple seems to be in mood to end it’s exclusively contract with AT&T. The iPhone is not only launching its most popular device on Verizon but is also contemplating other carriers also.

Report findings
Credit Suisse noted that AT&T most certainly will be losing out on its iPhone customers considering that a large majority of users are not satisfied with its services. However there will not be a mass exodus as expected by market analysts.

The report revealed, 63 percent iPhone customers are happy with AT&T and are not likely to switch to another carrier.

Twenty percent (out of this 63 percent) said that they are completely satisfied with AT&T’s services, 26 percent asked for improvement in services.

Report also revealed that majority of customers are ready to wait till the end of their contract before they make the switch, but 3 percent customers are ready to make the switch even if they have to shell out $325 in early termination fee.

From among 28 percent iPhone customers contemplating switch, 23 percent will move to Verizon, 3 percent to Sprint and 2 percent to T-Mobile.

However, Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin noted that “the impact from the loss of iPhone exclusivity should be substantially less than current valuations imply" for AT&T.

No need to panic
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, while speaking at an investor conference hosted by Goldman Sachs on Tuesday, revealed that the company is not worried about losing its iPhone customers even if the device debuts on some other carrier.

Randall assured investors that their fears about AT&T’s future after its iPhone exclusivity contract ends with Apple, (reportedly, by the end of this year) are baseless, as the company will do well even after that.

Apparently, the biggest reason why AT&T is not worried about losing out on customers is this, most of the users are bind to them with long-term contracts, which will make it tougher for them to switch on to other carrier easily, reportedly told Randall to company’s investors.

"If you look at the iPhone base, about 80 percent is either on a family-talk plan or in a business relationship with us. Those customers tend to be very sticky. They don't churn very quickly,” said Randall, reportedly.