Gawker: valleywag, randall stephenson

Apple's Tim Cook loves the iPhone so much, he wants to marry it

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:40:44 EST

AT&T is Apple's exclusive U.S. carrier for the iPhone because AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson let Steve Jobs have his way on pricing plans when other carriers would not. AT&T also pays Apple $18 a month per iPhone. So what has all that flexibility bought? An exclusive deal through 2012. But after that, no promises. Yesterday Apple's Tim Cook told Goldman Sachs investors the one-carrier model may not be around much longer."We're not married to any business model," Cook explained. "What we're married to is shipping the best phones in the world." And the carriers? They're just girlfriends. (Photo by andycarvin)

AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson blamed...

Tim Faulkner — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:16:25 EST

AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson blamed the weak economy for unpaid phone and broadband bills at Citigroup's annual media and telecom conference. As a result, shareholders blamed Stephenson and wiped nearly 5 percent of the phone company's value off the stock market during the conversation. [Silicon Alley Insider]

Cringely's AT&T-iPhone theory — the 100-word version

Paul Boutin — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:54:57 EST

Why did AT&T head Randall Stephenson let it slip that a much faster iPhone was coming next year? PBS pundit Robert X. Cringely says — in a roundabout 1,000-word way — that it was no slip. He also reminds us several times that it was he, Cringely, who foretold all of this. All of it. I bolded those parts to make sure he gets the credit. Deservedly. For once, I'm sure the Cringe is right.

I have been saying since last July that Apple and AT&T would soon introduce an iPhone that works with AT&T's faster 3G wireless data network. But the question is why Stephenson lets it slip that next year Apple will release a faster iPhone that will make the existing model obsolete. The only impact this can have on current iPhone sales is to stop them in their tracks. I think he was sending a $1 billion message to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. What I believe is troubling the relationship between AT&T and Apple is the upcoming auction for 700-MHz wireless spectrum and AT&T's discovery that — as I have predicted for weeks — Apple will be joining Google in bidding.

AT&T CEO says better iPhone coming next year

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:42:57 EST

Thinking about getting an iPhone as a gift for your loved ones this holiday season? Wait 'til next year! That's the message AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson delivered at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara yesterday when he announced that a 3G iPhone would arrive next year. "You'll have it next year," Stephenson said. Way to help sales, Randall!

"We all want the same thing. We are kind...

Jordan Golson — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:52:45 EDT

"We all want the same thing. We are kind of new in this, and we all want the Internet to flourish and grow rapidly. We come at it from infrastructure and we are plowing a ton of money. We are learning how to work together. Don't regulate until there is a problem... The rules get dorked up and nobody will invest in these businesses... If somebody steps out of line they need to be slapped but don't mess with the business model." — AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit on government regulation of the Internet. [Between The Lines]

Evan Williams, the astute creator of Blogger...

Tim Faulkner — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:23:47 EDT

Evan Williams, the astute creator of Blogger and Twitter, is acting mesmerized by the unflappable showmanship of AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson. He Twitters: "I like this Randall chap that runs AT&T, surprisingly. Straight shooter, he seems." Clever. Yes, Ev, I'm sure Stephenson will agree to that text-message revenue-share scheme you have in mind. [Twitter]

AT&T just wants to be loved — but it hasn't really changed

Owen Thomas — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:54:20 EDT

WEB 2.0 SUMMIT — "You're sort of unflappable, aren't you?" says conference organizer John Battelle. He's repeatedly needling AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson about Google, but Stephenson's not rising to the bait. That is, I believe, part of a calculated charm campaign by the monstrously large telecom. "We all want this Internet thing to flourish," he says. Stephenson plays dumb when Battelle asks about "net neutrality," and later, he actually gets applause from the skeptical crowd when he inveighs against government regulation. He means "regulation not written by AT&T's lobbyists." Not a bad performance. But still a performance.

The performance breaks down when Battelle quizzes Stephenson about the company's efforts to compete with cable-TV providers in delivering video to the home. Stephenson complains about local "franchise" regulations about video. Battelle points out that AT&T could simply provide an unregulated, high-speed Internet connection and start its own, separate Internet-video service. It could then compete openly to deliver TV shows and other video down that pipe. Stephenson looks puzzled — and then goes back to his canned talking point that local cable-TV regulations need to go away. He never answers Battelle's question. It's not clear if he even gets it. That's because, at the root, Stephenson is still running the Death Star of yore — the bad old AT&T that craves a monopoly.