Verizon CFO hints at CDMA + GSM iPhone

Speaking during a conference call discussing the company’s Q1 2011 results, Verizon Wireless CFO Fran Shammo hinted that the next iPhone will be a “world phone,” capable of running on both CDMA and GSM networks, according to a Barron’s report. When asked about the Average Revenue Per User (APRU) growth of 2.2 percent in Q1, compared to growth of 2.5 percent in the prior quarter, Shammo replied, “[t]he fluctuation, I believe, will come when a new device from Apple is launched, whenever that may be, and that we will be, on the first time, on equal footing with our competitors on a new phone hitting the market, which will also be a global device.” The chips Apple used in both the CDMA iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are capable of connecting to CDMA and GSM networks, but Apple chose not to take advantage of the chip’s GSM capabilities, including only CDMA-specific antennas in each device. A true “world phone” iPhone would allow Apple to build only one model of the iPhone, which it could distribute to both CDMA and GSM carriers.