9to5Mac is reporting that Apple could offer its iPhone on the Verizon network in 2009. A new carrier is not news in itself but the fact that Verizon is CDMA-based means that Apple would need to offer a CDMA/EV-DO-based iPhone. Apparently, negotiations between Apple and Verizon are underway and are expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
According to 9to5Mac, it’s not the first time that rumours of a CDMA-based iPhone have surfaced but the latest seem to carry more weight as their latest source has Verizon credentials and he seems to know way too much about Verizon-Apple politics.
An announcement could be made as early as MacWorld 2009.
If Apple releases a CDMA-based iPhone, I suspect that both Telus and Bell Mobility will be all over it.
Update: We may to chalk this story up as nothing more than rumour. Back in August, we learned that AT&T extended its iPhone 3G U.S. exclusive to 2010 according to a report from USA Today. So, is the story nothing more than rumour or will we see a Verizon iPhone a bit later than 2009?