Wellington
BAAAALLLINNN'
http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/28/technology/verizon_iphone/index.htm
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's that time of year again: The weather is getting warmer, Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference is just around the corner, and rumors about the iPhone coming to Verizon are sprouting up.
Don't believe it, Verizon fans. It's unlikely that Steve Jobs will announce a Verizon tie-up when he gets on stage at the WWDC event on June 7.
Secondly, Verizon is set to roll out its 4G network later this year, and AT&T will unveil its 4G network in 2011. Those networks will be on a new universal, global standard called LTE, making a 4G/LTE iPhone much more cost-effective for Apple and easier to sell around the world. That would make next year or even 2012 a more likely timeframe for debuting a Verizon iPhone.
And suppliers haven't given any indication that Apple is building a CDMA phone, according to Jagdish Rebello, principal analyst of communication systems at iSuppli.
AT&T's exclusivity contract
Apple has a five-year exclusivity deal with AT&T (T, Fortune 500), according to court documents, making it unlikely that the iPhone could come to Verizon before 2012.
Many analysts said nothing is set in stone and speculated that the terms could have been renegotiated.
"No one has a good handle on how long that exclusivity deal runs, but those contracts usually last 90 days to six months," said Josh King, general counsel at Avvo.com and former senior corporate development executive at AT&T Wireless.
But one big indication that AT&T's contract will continue for a while is its sweet 3G pricing deal for the iPad.
AT&T offers unlimited 3G access for the iPad on a contract-free basis for an average of about $22 a month. Because those sales only account for 15% of AT&T's data revenue, according to data tracker Trefis, it may be part of a bigger strategy.