Posted by Tom Krengel
on 03/31/10
Apple Inc. shares reached an all-time high Tuesday after a newspaper report said the iPhone could find a new U.S. sales outlet through Verizon Wireless. Since its 2007 launch, the iPhone has been available in the U.S. only to subscribers of AT&T, which uses a cellular network technology called GSM.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that Apple plans to release an iPhone this year that would work on CDMA networks -- a technology used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel in the U.S., as well as some carriers overseas.
Apple, AT&T and Verizon declined to comment on the matter.
AT&T has thrived as the sole U.S. iPhone carrier despite paying a massive subsidy to Apple for the exclusive rights to offer the phone. At the end of 2009, it was the second-largest wireless carrier behind Verizon Wireless in terms of subscribers.
But the iPhone's popularity has taxed AT&T's networks in cities such as New York and San Francisco, leaving the carrier vulnerable to an aggressive ad campaign from Verizon. AT&T said in January it would spend an additional $2 billion to improve its network this year.
Apple and AT&T have not said when their exclusive deal will end, though some analysts have predicted Apple will begin offering the iPhone through multiple U.S. carriers sometime after it unveils the next-generation iPhone this summer.
Shares of Verizon Communications, which owns a majority of Verizon Wireless, rose 2.6 percent Tuesday, while the stock of its partner, Vodafone Group PLC, edged up 0.8 percent. AT&T dropped 2.1 percent.
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