Verizon announced today that it has officially signed a non-exclusive agreement with Apple which allows them to sell, and provide service for, the iPhone on the their network.
There had been mountains of speculation in recent months, especially as the start of the Consumer Electronic Show approached.
This agreement brings and end to the exclusivity on the device previously held by AT&T. The iPhone 4 will go on sale on February 10th in Verizon stores. According to the company, the phone should be available for pre-order on the Verizon web site about a week prior to that date. The device will not immediately work on the new 4G Verizon network but will instead rely on the 3G CDMA network. This will allow users to do internet surfing or make phone calls, but not both at the same time.
Verizon company officials did not give any specifics on anticipated customer volume, but the CEO of Verizon Dan Mead, during his announcement today, called this one of the most significant announcements in history as the iPhone technology becomes available to a much greater audience of consumers. Because the agreement is non-exclusive, there is nothing preventing Apple from partnering with other wireless providers to offer the device as well, but so far there has been no mention of such agreements.