Verizon Version of iPhone Will Not Be Coming Soon

By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Web Editor

It does not appear that a Verizon version of the iPhone (News - Alert) will not be coming any time soon, according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.

Speaking to investors at a Goldman Sachs conference last week, Verizon Communications Inc. CEO Ivan Seidenberg said nothing about an iPhone for the company's current network, but said he hopes Apple (News - Alert) will allow Verizon to sell the phone for a new network it is building, The Bee reported.

The 4G network hasn't yet started service and won't be complete next year, the newspaper added.

So far, AT&T has kept its exclusive right to sell the phone in the United States, according to The Bee.

Instead, Verizon Wireless has been promoting phones from Motorola Inc. and HTC (News - Alert) Corp. that run Google Inc.'s Android software as an alternative to the iPhone, according to the newspaper.

"We don't feel like we have an iPhone deficit. We would love to carry it when we get there, but we have to earn it," Seidenberg was quoted in The Bee.

"I think 4G will accelerate the process, and any other decisions Apple makes would be fine with us," he added. "Hopefully, at some point Apple will get with the program."

Verizon Wireless has said it expects to start a network based on wireless technology, known as Long Term Evolution (LTE (News - Alert)), in 25 to 30 US cities by the end of 2010. It should have near-nationwide coverage by the end of 2012, according to Seidenberg.

The Bee also reported that Seidenberg confirmed he expects to leave the CEO job no later than the end of 2011, and will be succeeded by newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Lowell McAdam, who was head of Verizon Wireless.

Rethink Wireless reported that it had been assumed that Verizon would launch a CDMA iPhone this year. However, if channel reports of Apple buying up CDMA chips are true, the phone could be headed for China Telecom (News - Alert), KDDI or even Sprint, according to the report.

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(source: http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/topics/4g-wirelessevolution/articles/104510-verizon-version-iphone-will-not-be-coming-soon.htm)