Speaking with USA Today regarding the company’s decision to pass on becoming the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. distributor, Verizon Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl claims it has an answer to the iPhone waiting in the wings.
“We do have a very good response in the mill,” Strigl claimed. “You’ll see that from us in the late summer.” In addition, Stigl believes that the fate of the iPhone rests more with AT&T’s network than with the handset.
“The issue is not the Apple-ness of the iPhone itself, but with the cellular network that it is running on,” he stated. “That will be the true test of the iPhone: What will the iPhone experience be?” As part of its exclusive deal with AT&T, Apple is barred from developing a Verizon-compatible CDMA version of the iPhone for the next five years.