Google Fiber is giving users 700 mbps

[Dan]

You should check out their 10k. Their margins are doing just fine and any complaint you read about in the media is a PR war to reduce phone subsidies.

Even though Israel is a small country and hard to compare to the US, look how much the price dropped when the big 3 got competition. You had average bills dropping 75% and now suddently orange and cellcom say that they can still be profitable with 100 shekel monthly bills. Look at france where less then 30 euro gets you everything unlimited and international calling to 40 countries free. American telecom companies are as profitable as they have ever been

Have you seen Apple's margins?

[businessmachine]

Have you seen Apple's margins?

lol- that's like comparing oranges to monkeys. Those are two completely different businesses and its known that apples margins are not sustainable in the long term which is why aapl is down 30%+ from its previous high. Don't get me wrong- apple is a great company and I bought quite a few shares in my personal acct after this dip but like many great tech companies- you're only as good as your next hit product- i.e. remember Motorola?

I don't think apple will but I don't think acquiring a telecom would be such a bad use of their cash.

[PlatinumGuy]

I think the primary concern is low customer satisfaction.

Apple wouldnt need CS. They would stop the ridiculous billing for phone/text and just charge $100 for unlimited data 1-3 plans.

iTunes already has up do date cc profiles so billing shouldnt be a big deal.

[springles]

lol- that's like comparing oranges to monkeys. Those are two completely different businesses and its known that apples margins are not sustainable in the long term which is why aapl is down 30%+ from its previous high. Don't get me wrong- apple is a great company and I bought quite a few shares in my personal acct after this dip but like many great tech companies- you're only as good as your next hit product- i.e. remember Motorola?

I don't think apple will but I don't think acquiring a telecom would be such a bad use of their cash.

Thats exactly why apple wont do it, its completely different businesses and they dont have any of the infrastructure set up for a telecom so its not like they will be able to do it better than its already being done.  Apple's goal has always been to do a few things and do them extremely well, they arent going to start branching out into completely new businesses. Thats more of a google strategy.

[Dan]

Thats exactly why apple wont do it, its completely different businesses and they dont have any of the infrastructure set up for a telecom so its not like they will be able to do it better than its already being done.  Apple's goal has always been to do a few things and do them extremely well, they arent going to start branching out into completely new businesses. Thats more of a google strategy.

That.

[businessmachine]

Thats exactly why apple wont do it, its completely different businesses and they dont have any of the infrastructure set up for a telecom so its not like they will be able to do it better than its already being done.  Apple's goal has always been to do a few things and do them extremely well, they arent going to start branching out into completely new businesses. Thats more of a google strategy.

I agree that Apple will not go and start their own telecom but I do see the strategy of Apple acquiring a telecom. Company's evolve and diversify all the time and going that route is a valid diversification play IMO.

Probably won't happen but if it will, remember who argued for it

[Achas Veachas]

Probably won't happen but if it will, remember who argued for it

We'll try to keep that in mind...

[businessmachine]

We'll try to keep that in mind...

LOL

[PlatinumGuy]

Thats exactly why apple wont do it, its completely different businesses and they dont have any of the infrastructure set up for a telecom so its not like they will be able to do it better than its already being done.  Apple's goal has always been to do a few things and do them extremely well, they arent going to start branching out into completely new businesses. Thats more of a google strategy.

they don't have to do anything better to make more money.

[springles]

they don't have to do anything better to make more money.

that wasnt my point.  I was saying that if they had some existing infrastructure that lended itself to telecom then it would make sense.  But since they dont it would be the same as apple buying any other business that could make them money (yes there is some advantage to being able to market your devices better thru your own carrier but its not a large advantage).  And since apple's general philosophy is to stick to products and filter their services through those products I dont see how this play makes sense for their philosophy. 
Read this quote from Cook from about 18 months ago:

    We believe that we're on the face of the Earth to make great products, and that's not changing. We're constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple, not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.

    We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.