Verizon Wireless Ready for the iPhone?

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This isn’t the first time we’re talking about a possible iPhone coming from Verizon and I have a feeling it’s not going to be the last time either. People see Verizon as the next logical step for Apple. The iPhone has been an AT&T exclusive phone for a while now and Big Red seems like the perfect carrier to help Apple sell even more iPhones in the following years.

Because at the end of the day it’s all about profits. And AT&T can only sell so many iPhones in the USA, especially considering that its speedy 3G network can’t handle the extra pressure from iPhone users.

According to Anthony Melone, Verizon Wireless’ chief technology officer, the company is prepared for the iPhone in case Apple will end the exclusivity agreement with AT&T next year.

The company didn’t officially comment on the matter but according to reports, Verizon has been checking its network and investing in it to make sure it could handle the extra traffic that comes with a phone like the iPhone.

Other reports are saying that Apple is working closely with Qualcomm to create a CDMA-ready iPhone. It’s not yet known whether the CDMA device will actually be a dual-mode phone capable of handling GSM bands too but that’s also a possibility. The new device is expected to arrive in the third quarter of 2010 which seems pretty consistent with Apple’s way of doing things. The next-gen iPhone could be presented in June and launched be Verizon and/or AT&T in the following months.

Verizon is also going to deploy LTE next year and it seems pretty serious when it comes to upgrading its network. It remains to be seen if Verizon’s 3G network will be able to perform better than AT&T’s once a few million CDMA iPhones are activated and used all at once.

On the other hand there’s always the possibility that Apple and AT&T continue to work together, but that’s not exactly what Verizon customers will want to hear, will they?