Verizon CEO Plays Down Possible iPhone Launch

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iphone-verizon

If anyone expected Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg to use an investor conference Thursday to spill his guts on whether the carrier will soon be selling the iPhone, they were sorely disappointed. Instead, Seidenberg played his cards close to the vest, not once mentioning the topic on so many tongues: how soon will AT&T’s exclusive arrangement with Apple end.

However, the CEO “said he hopes Apple Inc. will come around and allow Verizon to sell the phone for a new network it’s building,” according to the Associated Press. That 4G network won’t be complete until next year, Seidenberg said. His appearance comes prior to a planned keynote address in January at CES 2011.


Earlier this year, Seidenberg made headlines after he said he told Apple he’d like to carry the iPhone. The decision whether or not Verizon will get the chance to offer subscribers the iconic handset was “exclusively in Apple’s court,” the carrier’s CEO said in late 2009. However, like any vacuum, whenever there is an absence of facts, rumor and speculation rush in to fill the void.

A rumor that Verizon would get the iPhone by September so far seems unfounded. Now talk is Verizon iPhone 4 will appear in January – which so happens to be when Seidenberg takes the stage at CES 2011.

[MucRumors, AP]

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