Verizon shifted the responsibility for delivering an iPhone on its network to Apple, on the same day the Wall Street Journal reported that such a phone will be released early next year.
At a press conference at the CTIA conference in San Francisco, Lowell McAdam, Verizon’s president and chief operating officer, said to look for an announcement about a Verizon iPhone from Apple.
“This is one of those things that rolls out every few weeks whether there’s a basis for it or not,” he said when asked to comment on the story. “I can’t give you any insights. But I think Apple is the one that has to make that announcement.”
He reiterated what he said is his common response to questions about the iPhone. “What I’ve always said is I expect at some point in time our business interests are going to align. I think things like LTE are another great reason why they’d want a device or tablet on that network. But I don’t have anything to say today about timing.”
McAdam announced during CTIA that Verizon will launch 38 LTE networks by the end of this year.
McAdam said to expect announcements at CES in January about a range of devices like tablets and smartphones that will run on the LTE network and become available in the first half of next year. Those devices will come from major, mainstream OEMs, he said.