iPhone: Three Years In The Making

CNN Money posted an interesting interview with Stanley Sigman, AT&T’s CEO of wireless operations. In the first part, of what will soon be a two-part-series, Sigman explains why AT&T has decided not to sell the iPhone on its website for the launch and how Steve Jobs approached him about the deal three years ago.

It was approaching three years ago when I first received a call from Steve and he shared with me what his vision was. I had not seen a phone and Steve had not held a phone. He had a vision of the phone at that time, and this (contractually obligating AT&T to deploy the iPhone) was in some respects a difficult decision to make because it required me to make a commitment to a device that I had not tested.

He continues to argue that he had full confidence in Apple’s capabilities and that the iPhone is truly an Apple product with a little help from AT&T on the radio side.

At the end of the day, I had confidence that Steve and his team had the capability to design hardware and develop software that would nail it, and I had confidence in our ability to work with them on the radio side and the technical side. We’re not going to take credit for the concept, the hardware or the software. He did that. But we worked with them hand in hand in the testing process to make sure it was what he wanted it to be and what we wanted it to be.

You can read the interview in its entirety on CNN’s website. Part two of the series will follow soon.