With $100B in the bank, I keep thinking that Apple could do a lot more to disrupt of lot of industries.
They could afford to build an entirely new wireless carrier, from scratch (I understand spectrum might be an issue). They could create an entire newly kind of music label that redefines how artists are compensated and how labels make money. Or they could create their own new book publishing company that breaks with the traditions of the big publishers to make e-Books the focus and more affordable. They could probably buy up most of their entire supply chain.
So they must have good reasons for not wanting to use those funds to distrupt those other industries more than they already have. I'm sure they don't want to get out of their core competencies, but setting up subsidiary businesses would seem like a good way to get what they want.
It's the first one that excites me. Apple could completely upend the wireless market by selling data service at cost as a loss-leader for their devices-- or even building lifetime unlimited data into the price of every Apple device. Compared to the cost of building the network, what's $100 million on lobbying to nab some free spectrum?
Alas, I think the current arrangement is working too well for Apple to want to take that kind of insane risk. Shame.
I think spectrum is quite a bit more expensive than that. Qualcomm recently sold a spectrum block to ATT for nearly $2 billion. Granted it was probably a more desirable block (lower 700 Mhz) than most others.
Yeah, that's a good point. But even a billion dollars wouldn't put it out of their price range. I'd also imagine they could drum up serious public support by offering to give everyone free cell service, and maybe squeak out a legislative discount.
They could afford to build an entirely new wireless carrier, from scratch (I understand spectrum might be an issue). They could create an entire newly kind of music label that redefines how artists are compensated and how labels make money. Or they could create their own new book publishing company that breaks with the traditions of the big publishers to make e-Books the focus and more affordable. They could probably buy up most of their entire supply chain.
So they must have good reasons for not wanting to use those funds to distrupt those other industries more than they already have. I'm sure they don't want to get out of their core competencies, but setting up subsidiary businesses would seem like a good way to get what they want.