It's easy for iPhone users like me to think so, and this "crisis management expert" says they do:

"AT&T has the opportunity to turn a potential negative into a positive," said Lawrence, who has managed crisis communications for a large number of public and government clients. In 2003, he served as the spokesman for Ambassador L. Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion. "They should forget the immediate gratification [of higher revenue] and invest in the longer term to keep iPhone users," he said.

Of course, that all depends on the state of the exclusive contract with Apple. No matter how much I'd like a cheap upgrade, I'm pretty unlikely to jump to a Pre, a Blackberry, or a gPhone over this. On the other hand, if the exclusive deal does end soon, and I have the option of jumping vendors when my contract expires, this might stick as a bad taste.

I understand the financials that have them making this policy, but I think it really all hinges on the contract with Apple. If AT&T flips and offers the cheaper upgrade pricing, I'd say that it really means an early end to that deal.

Technorati Tags: apple, iPhone