iPhone turned down by Verizon?

A rumour doing the rounds on the internet on Tuesday morning suggests that US operator Verizon Wireless turned down an exclusive deal on the Apple iPhone two years ago.

Whether or not it is true, the suggestion raises some interesting points about the way things might have been.

Apparently the second placed US carrier decided against doing a deal on the iPhone because Verizon could not reach an acceptable agreement with Apple.

Apple reportedly wanted full control over the distribution of the device as well as technical support – effectively taking the reins of customer relationship management from Verizon.

But this also means that the Apple iPhone would have been a cdma2000 device, possibly with 1x EV-DO 3G support, rather than a GSM/EDGE device as it is now. Arguably, this could have locked Apple out of the world’s biggest mobile market, unless of course the company is planning to offer both CDMA and GSM versions of the device.

Moreover, if there is some truth to the Verizon rumour, it will surely spark plenty of conjecture over what kind of agreement Cingular Wireless has struck with Apple.

Cingular has been quiet on the finer details of its exclusivity deal with Apple, saying only that it is a “multi-year partnership”.