Josh OngCustomer service call center staffing companies Teleperformance and Ryla are looking for thousands of customer service representatives to field calls for a "major wireless cell phone service retailer," according to a report by CNET. Posts to the Careerbuilder website as well as the companies' own websites reveal that the positions will be dedicated to "either a wireless, cell phone, or communications company," with additional positions offering technical support for "personal computers and portable devices like MP3 players and smartphones."
One Teleperformance call center in Augusta, Georgia, will double its employees through the hiring campaign. "It is for a major wireless company that we have secured a new line of business, one of our existing clients," Marcie Ballard, vice president of recruiting for Teleperformance, told the Augusta Chronicle, although she declined to say which provider.
Both companies have prior experience supporting Verizon. Teleperformance also works with Apple, in addition to Verizon Wireless and the other major cell phone carriers in the past, the report notes. Ryla has worked with Verizon for over 10 years, a source told CNET.
While the connection between a flurry of call center recruiting and a Verizon iPhone is tenuous at best, the rumor was bolstered by Friday's news that Verizon had lost more ground to rival AT&T than expected in the third quarter. Third-quarter earnings reports from Verizon and At&T this week show that Verizon netted 584,000 new monthly-bill paying customers during the quarter, compared to AT&T's 745,000 additions, Reuters reports.
Verizon CFO John Killian told Reuters that Verizon expects to add 550,000 to 600,000 new monthly-bill paying customers in the fourth quarter, less than half of last years' number. Killian also stressed the importance of converting standard users into smartphone users in order to increase revenue through sales of data plans.
Though Verizon Wireless still holds the No. 1 spot as the largest telecommunications network in the U.S. with 93.2 million subscribers as of October, AT&T is close to overtaking the provider with 92.8 million subscribers of its own.
AT&T announced Thursday that it had activated a record 5.2 million iPhones in the September quarter. AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson called it a "terrific quarter," with a record number of customers signing new two-year contracts. Based on the numbers, more than three years of AT&T iPhone exclusivity have taken its toll on Verizon.
Rumors of a 2011 Verizon iPhone gained credence this month when The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is prepping a CDMA, Verizon-compatible iPhone for production by the end of the year. Some analysts believe Verizon could sell as many as 12 million iPhones in its first year of availability. Responding to the report from the Journal, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam told the press earlier this month that news of a Verizon iPhone would have to come from Apple.
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
AppleInsider Staff
William Gallagher
Oliver Haslam
143 Comments
Full Article
Verizon is reportedly hiring hundreds of call center staff through third-party hiring companies, stoking speculation that the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. is preparing to launch the iPhone, a new report claims.
Customer service call center staffing companies Teleperformance and Ryla are looking for thousands of customer service representatives to field calls for a "major wireless cell phone service retailer," according to a report by CNET. Posts to the Careerbuilder website as well as the companies' own websites reveal that the positions will be dedicated to "either a wireless, cell phone, or communications company," with additional positions offering technical support for "personal computers and portable devices like MP3 players and smartphones."
One Teleperformance call center in Augusta, Georgia, will double its employees through the hiring campaign. "It is for a major wireless company that we have secured a new line of business, one of our existing clients," Marcie Ballard, vice president of recruiting for Teleperformance, told the Augusta Chronicle, although she declined to say which provider.
Both companies have prior experience supporting Verizon. Teleperformance also works with Apple, in addition to Verizon Wireless and the other major cell phone carriers in the past, the report notes. Ryla has worked with Verizon for over 10 years, a source told CNET.
While the connection between a flurry of call center recruiting and a Verizon iPhone is tenuous at best, the rumor was bolstered by Friday's news that Verizon had lost more ground to rival AT&T than expected in the third quarter. Third-quarter earnings reports from Verizon and At&T this week show that Verizon netted 584,000 new monthly-bill paying customers during the quarter, compared to AT&T's 745,000 additions, Reuters reports.
Verizon CFO John Killian told Reuters that Verizon expects to add 550,000 to 600,000 new monthly-bill paying customers in the fourth quarter, less than half of last years' number. Killian also stressed the importance of converting standard users into smartphone users in order to increase revenue through sales of data plans.
Though Verizon Wireless still holds the No. 1 spot as the largest telecommunications network in the U.S. with 93.2 million subscribers as of October, AT&T is close to overtaking the provider with 92.8 million subscribers of its own.
AT&T announced Thursday that it had activated a record 5.2 million iPhones in the September quarter. AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson called it a "terrific quarter," with a record number of customers signing new two-year contracts. Based on the numbers, more than three years of AT&T iPhone exclusivity have taken its toll on Verizon.
Rumors of a 2011 Verizon iPhone gained credence this month when The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is prepping a CDMA, Verizon-compatible iPhone for production by the end of the year. Some analysts believe Verizon could sell as many as 12 million iPhones in its first year of availability. Responding to the report from the Journal, Verizon CFO Lowell McAdam told the press earlier this month that news of a Verizon iPhone would have to come from Apple.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
It's possible that Verizon could get a CDMA iPad 2 next year. And it could hit Verizon before the CDMA iPhone.
Just a crazy thought about iPhone announcement scheduling. If VZ does indeed get iPhone, and if it is actually announced in Q1 next year, then that could give Apple two iPhone announcements per year if they stick with that schedule. A lot if 'ifs' but please hear me out. There could be one announcement for Verizon iPhone in Q1, and another for AT&T iPhone in Q2. Two opportunities to generate huge media attention on iPhone every year.
And let's extend that thought a little further. It's very likely that AT&T has angered Steve in more than one way. And we know what happens when Apple's partners anger Steve (looking at you, ATI*.) Apple could retaliate for AT&T's recalcitrance by announcing each new iPhone model on Verizon first, then AT&T later in the year. Verizon gets more attention because they get to roll out iPhone 5 and/or iPhone 6, etc. months before AT&T gets theirs.
(* Way back in 2000, some ATI marketing weenie leaked information on new iMac and Power Mac models using ATI graphics cards just before MacWorld San Francisco. Steve was going to announce those new machines and graphics cards himself in his keynote, and he was livid. He removed all mention of ATI from his keynote, and all the signage in the Apple booth had ATI 's name and their Radeon graphics card brand name blacked out.)
It's possible that Verizon could get a CDMA iPad 2 next year. And it could hit Verizon before the CDMA iPhone.
Just a crazy thought about iPhone announcement scheduling. If VZ does indeed get iPhone, and if it is actually announced in Q1 next year, then that could give Apple two iPhone announcements per year if they stick with that schedule. A lot if 'ifs' but please hear me out. There could be one announcement for Verizon iPhone in Q1, and another for AT&T iPhone in Q2. Two opportunities to generate huge media attention on iPhone every year.
Could be, but I think it will be for an iPhone.
Also, the iPad is the one Apple device that could be ?world mode? and support all the spectrums that would need to be supported. I doubt they will, but space isn?t the same issue in the current iPad casing.
It's possible that Verizon could get a CDMA iPad 2 next year. And it could hit Verizon before the CDMA iPhone.
Just a crazy thought about iPhone announcement scheduling. If VZ does indeed get iPhone, and if it is actually announced in Q1 next year, then that could give Apple two iPhone announcements per year if they stick with that schedule. A lot if 'ifs' but please hear me out. There could be one announcement for Verizon iPhone in Q1, and another for AT&T iPhone in Q2. Two opportunities to generate huge media attention on iPhone every year.
And let's extend that thought a little further. It's very likely that AT&T has angered Steve in more than one way. And we know what happens when Apple's partners anger Steve (looking at you, ATI*.) Apple could retaliate for AT&T's recalcitrance by announcing each new iPhone model on Verizon first, then AT&T later in the year. Verizon gets more attention because they get to roll out iPhone 5 and/or iPhone 6, etc. months before AT&T gets theirs.
(* Way back in 2000, some ATI marketing weenie leaked information on new iMac and Power Mac models using ATI graphics cards just before MacWorld San Francisco. Steve was going to announce those new machines and graphics cards himself in his keynote, and he was livid. He removed all mention of ATI from his keynote, and all the signage in the Apple booth had ATI 's name and their Radeon graphics card brand name blacked out.)
If VZ did get the iPhone, I think it would probably be announced at the same time for every carrier. The only difference would be the chipset.
Personally, I think this is all FUD. I think Apple and AT&T still have the 5 year contract in effect and it will be 2012 before you see the iPhone on any other carrier in the US. I see the iPad at VZ as a baby step for each company. I would love to see the iPhone on every carrier, but I don't think they can keep up with demand until that new Foxconn factory gets up and running.
Oh yeah, my first post on here.
Though Verizon Wireless still holds the No. 1 spot as the largest telecommunications network in the U.S. with 93.2 million subscribers as of October, AT&T is close to overtaking the provider with 92.8 million subscribers of its own.
If Verizon doesn't get the iphone for 2011, then the 5-year contract is still in effect. Also, At&t is catching up to Verizon at a fast rate, and I can see At&t being number one and Verizon being number two by the end of 2011.