Verizon Stock Should Soar If They Reach an Agreement with Apple to Market the New IPhone 4

Why should mobile phone users and stock market investors get excited if Apple decides to market its iPhone through the Verizon network? Mobile phone users should get excited because currently only AT&T sells the iPhone and many of AT&T customers have complaints about the 3G network coverage. I make this statement based on my own experience with the customer service department of AT&T and their inability to provide adequate 3G coverage in California markets that included San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Consider the following quotes from a publication called PR News, dated Jan 9, 2010 (http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/01/09/verizon-2010-iphone-and-apple-price-negotiation-update/):

"We know that AT&T's exclusivity with the iPhone ends this summer, one minute we hear that Apple will extend the deal, the next they are to allow other carriers to offer the iPhone to its customers. We have to wonder if we will ever see Apple move away from AT&T, the two companies have worked well together over the years, although it is no secret that AT&T needs to improve on their network. Most iPhone customers have said that they would move over to Verizon if the iPhone became available to them."

Granted, AT&T and Verizon are locked into a nationwide advertising campaign using maps and trying to claim each respective network has the more extended 3G coverage. While only the customer can determine whose 3G network they like best, the opportunity for Apple to extend their reach into the telecommunications market through Verizon, the second largest wireless phone provider, can only spell profits for Apple as well as Verizon.

Couple the decision to unveil the new iPhone 4, to be released June 24, 2010 according to a CNBC press release, with the decision to market it through Verizon, and Apple's stock, along with Verizon's, should take off. The new iPhone 4 is reported to be 24% thinner than the current models, will have a front facing camera for camera buffs, will be framed in a stainless steel casing, and will have a built-in antenna to improve reception for phone calls, which is a common complaint with current models. Given that Netflix has signed a deal with Apple as well, it is all going to boil down to availability of 3G coverage. For obvious reasons. If people want to enjoy the new iPhone 4 to its maximum capabilities, they're going to need to have 3G coverage. If Verizon provides it in areas where it simply isn't available from AT&T, then there will likely be an exodus of customers from AT&T to Verizon, not only to gain better 3G coverage, but to be able to use the new iPhone to their heart's content. It won't be enough to tell AT&T customers to go look for a WiFi hot spot if they can't use their new iPhone 4 in areas where 3G coverage is available from Verizon, but not AT&T.

It's also well known that AT&T's network coverage works best in larger metropolitan areas. What about all the people who live in rural or semi-rural areas? We can't all live in New York or Los Angeles, not that many of us would want to, but it is a fact that Verizon offers better coverage in rural areas than AT&T. Those of you that live in rural areas don't have to take my word for it. Do your own comparison shopping and find out if AT&T will cover you in rural areas where you regularly travel. This isn't meant to be an endorsement for either Verizon or AT&T. If you happen to be in a rural area and you have a Verizon device and I have an AT&T device and you have reception and I don't, the choice becomes clear at that ;point, whose phone you're going to use. I should also make it clear that there is nothing wrong with AT&T's 3G network when you can access it. The problem has to do with access and which carrier is going to provide it in more places that will make your investment in a device such as an iPhone 4 worthwhile.