I have never been a big fan of CDMA, not because of the technology but because it is not the de facto world standard for cellular communications; that title goes to GSM. Apple chose GSM for the iPhone for a variety of reasons; probably the most important one was the potential worldwide market place. The last time I checked there where less than a third the number of CDMA subscribers compared to GSM.
As I posted previously about the move towards 4th generation networks, I applauded Verizon's and AT&T decision to move towards a common world standard; Long Term Evolution (LTE). Last week we had two interesting stories concerning the future of the iPhone which will be affected by the move towards this standard; the possibility of the iPhone running on both the Verizon and AT&T networks.
From an article in the Wall Street Journal:
"Mr. Seidenberg also addressed the notion of Apple Inc.'s iPhone ever coming to the Verizon Wireless network, saying it is more likely that Apple would be willing to work with the carrier under the fourth-generation, or 4G, network, which follows the same technology standard as AT&T Inc.'s 4G plans. He said Apple never seriously considered making a CDMA version of the iPhone because it didn't have as wide a distribution opportunity."
With the iPhone's clear popularity, one of the benefits of moving to LTE is the possibility for Verizon to bid on the iPhone. AT&T is definitely concerned about losing its exclusivity and it has been widely reported that they are pushing to have the contract with Apple extended beyond 2010.
This really puts Apple in the driver's seat and we can start having a apples to apples debate about which network is really better…
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