Originally Posted by
bniu
even if the at&t exclusivity deal is voided, apple does not have to go out of their way to make a CDMA version of the iphone. in fact, apple can say: "we make all iphones GSM/HSDPA and unlocked to use on any carrier who supports these standards, the rest is on the carrier to provide a compatible network".
the fact that verizon insists on using CDMA EVDO is not apple's problem, it's verizon's.
It's Apple's problem if it wants customers loyal to the single most pervasive network in the US. No combination of GSM carriers can cough up anywhere near as many customers, nor support the bandwidth needed to provide a decent iPhone experience. AT&T is struggling
now in that area, and customers are complaining.
The top 3 cellular providers in market share in the US are Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, comprising nearly 80% of the market. Both Verizon and Sprint are CDMA, meaning that the remaining 20% of carriers (which are
not exclusively GSM) really don't offer Apple as remotely attractive a number of customers.