Steve Jobs wanted Apple's own mobile network for iPhone users

Steve Jobs was known for his uncompromising management style - refusing to accept anything less than perfection on every facet of his products, which ultimately led him down the path of the closed ecosystem that melded hardware and software together.

As such, releasing the iPhone onto the carrier networks in the US and elsewhere must have been a painful process as it took away an element of control from Jobs, even if he had turned the carriers into mere pipes for iPhone data, texts and calls.

However, it's been revealed by a close associate of Jobs and a wireless industry stalwart in the US, John Stanton, that he actually considered creating Apple's own wireless network in order to try and circumvent the need for carriers.

"He wanted to replace carriers. He and I spent a lot of time talking about whether synthetically you could create a carrier using Wi-Fi spectrum. That was part of his vision," said Stanton.

Stanton said Jobs envisioned this network running on the same unlicensed spectrum that Wi-Fi uses but ultimately Jobs realised this system was unworkable and instead set about making long-term deals with operators to carry the iPhone instead.

The story certainly sounds like the level of control Jobs would have wished he could have for his products, as anyone who's read the recently released biography of the great man, or even just our Top 10 Steve Jobs quotes will be able to testify.

16 Nov 2011