Verizon CEO has told Apple of iPhone interest
NEW YORK - Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg says the company has told Apple that it wants to carry the iPhone. But he declined to say when — or even if — the popular smart phone will be available for Verizon Wireless customers.
Context & Ripple Effects
Verizon's public posture on the iPhone has traveled a long distance: in June 2007, Seidenberg's company dismissed the need for an iPhone killer at all, then by December 2009 Business Week reported Verizon was actively preparing for the iPhone, with earlier 2009 reporting on new gear from Apple and Verizon Wireless. Seidenberg's statement that Verizon has formally told Apple it wants the device turns preparation into an open request — while he pointedly declines to confirm when or whether a deal exists.
Why it matters now: the iPhone remains tied to one US carrier, and the head of the largest US wireless operator publicly lobbying for it signals that the exclusivity arrangement is under real pressure from the carrier side, not just from consumer demand.
First-order effects
- Verizon Wireless customers who have held off on smartphones awaiting the iPhone get a named-executive signal that their carrier is pursuing it — but with no date attached, purchase decisions stay frozen rather than resolved.
- Apple holds all the leverage in the negotiation: Seidenberg's public declaration of interest hands Apple confirmation that demand exists without committing Apple to anything.
Second-order effects
- AT&T's position as sole US iPhone distributor comes under direct threat — if Verizon lands the device, AT&T faces churn among exactly the subscribers its iPhone deal attracted.
- Rival handset makers selling through Verizon (Motorola, HTC on Android devices) face the risk that the carrier's marketing weight pivots toward an Apple product, squeezing their shelf space at the top of the lineup.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — carrier courtship followed by multi-carrier availability — US smartphone distribution moves from exclusive single-carrier lockups toward open availability, resetting how handsets are marketed and how carriers compete for subscribers beyond network quality alone.
- A Verizon-Apple deal would mark the structural end of 'killer device' framing from 2007: carriers would stop trying to out-build the iPhone and instead bid to carry it.
The trend: US wireless is shifting from carrier-exclusive flagship phones toward multi-carrier availability, with Apple's iPhone as the asset every major operator now competes to carry.