Apple has signed up a second mobile network in the US, potentially doubling the market for the iPhone.
Verizon Wireless will begin carrying the iPhone 4 next month. It currently has 94 million subscribers, just a few thousand more than AT&T, which has had exclusive rights to the iPhone in the US until now.
“Verizon Wireless customers have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on iPhone 4, and we think they are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer. “We have enormous respect for the company Verizon has built and the loyalty they have earned from their customers.”
Verizon boss Lowell McAdam made a sideways dig at AT&T, which has been criticised for problems with its 3G coverage.
“We are pleased to introduce millions of wireless users to the industry leading iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon.
It’s also the only network that will support tethering — Verizon will let users use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi–enabled devices to the internet using the phone’s 3G connection
Connecting the iPhone to Verizon’s network has entailed a few small changes to the handset. Verizon uses CDMA technology to deliver 3G, so the phone requires an extra chip as well as changes to the external antennae resulting in a slight alteration in the position of the volume and mute buttons.
Apple said it will be revising its iPhone 4 cases to accommodate the change.
