In a recent interview, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg answered some pretty interesting questions about his relationship with Apple and the iPhone which led up to this week’s announcement. The most notable among them is that despite an army of rumours to the contrary, Verizon was “never in the running” for an earlier iPhone, as it was clear from the get-go that Verizon wouldn’t be able to squeeze a custom-built CDMA iPhone out of Apple. The iPhone eventually moved from one carrier per country to two, and that’s when Verizon got into the picture, apparently.
The interview also solidified Seidenberg’s confidence in Verizon’s network, noting they’ve been getting just about as much data as AT&T with the iPhone through their pipes and have handled it just fine. Seidenberg also waxes about the benefits and competitive positioning of CDMA versus GSM, and where Vierzon sits on the cusp of a 4G future.
It’s an interesting read overall, and a good insight to the relationships carrier heads have with Apple and Steve Jobs. Generally, Apple is seen as the one manhandling carriers into meeting their requirements rather than other way around (which is standard when it comes to manufacturer relations). Seidenberg comes off as not too bothered that they didn’t get the iPhone before now, and still has a tonne of respect for Android and how well it’s done.
[via Businessweek]