(Image Source: Digital Trends)


BY MATT NOONAN

ANCHOR LAUREN ZIMA

Remember when Apple rolled out the iPhone back in 2007 and it was only available on AT&T's network? Turns out - if the late Steve Jobs had his way, it would have only been available on an Apple network.

In a speech on Tuesday, cell phone industry veteran John Stanton said Jobs spoke with him frequently from 2005 to 2007 about plans to create an iPhone network that would run exclusively on WiFi.

Huffington Post writer Jason Gilbert says that kind of idea has Jobs’ fingerprints all over it.

“Though Apple has not confirmed whether or not this story of a proposed Wi-Fi Apple mobile network is true, it does fit with Jobs' well-known preference to control his products from end-to-end, from microchip to the product's box design. It also fits with Jobs' reputation as an industry disrupter.”

Though some critics have labeled Jobs as a control freak, a RedmondPie.com blogger says the mobile WiFi network concept is yet another example of his thirst for innovation.

"Such ideas just show, yet again, how much of a visionary Jobs was, and how important he was to Apple and its rapid rise to prominence over the last decade. He had a knack for spotting gaps, making things better, and more often than not, pulling them off."

Jobs may not have been able to pull this idea off, but a Business Insider writer wonders if a mobile WiFi network could still be a possibility.

"The idea is quite straightforward but would be difficult and expensive to pull off in practice -- Apple would have to blanket as much of the country (and world) as possible in a robust wi-fi network... There would be no need for your iPhone to interact with a standard carrier ever again."

Although an Apple Network could have been a lucrative venture, PC Mag says Jobs made the right decision to pair off with AT&T for the iPhone's launch.

"Given the complexity of starting up, building out, and funding a wireless network, it was likely a smart move to let an existing company handle that, despite peoples' protests over the initial selection of AT&T. Apple's pre-iPhone mobile efforts, like MobileMe, weren't exactly smooth sailing."

Earlier this week Apple named Disney CEO Robert Iger to the board seat that had been vacant since Jobs' death in October.