Rumors of a Verizon iPhone have existed since AT&T was announced as the exclusive carrier of the Apple smartphone better than three years ago.
But this week, the rumor mill slowed and the fact checking began via an intriguing report from Bloomberg News that cited two sources (supposedly) within Apple claiming that the iPhone will soon be available through Verizon.
If sources are to be believed, Verizon – the largest U.S. mobile-phone company – will roll out coverage for the iPhone next January at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Bloomberg indicated in its reports this week that Verizon Wireless is still working tirelessly on a high-speed fourth-generation network to accommodate the iPhone 4 and present a caliber of service not presently available through AT&T.
Apple is going to dramatically increase the number of devices it sells in the U.S. when exclusivity at AT&T ends.
After the Verizon iPhone rumor was given a credible lift from Bloomberg, Yair Reiner of Oppenheimer said that Apple could sell upwards of an additional 12 million iPhones per year if AT&T’s exclusive agreement lapses and Verizon hops on the iPhone bandwagon.
Understandably, mobile marketers and digital advertisers of all shapes and sizes are salivating at the obvious exposure potential through the iAd platform if only a fraction of Verizon’s 83 million subscribers finally have an opportunity to give the Apple smartphone a look.
