Verizon passed on the iPhone, fame and fortune

According to a report in USA Today, Verizon Wireless, then the nation's largest wireless carrier, was offered the iPhone almost two years ago and passed. Verizon was apparently uncomfortable with the amount of control that Apple demanded over hardware sales and support, not to mention the fact that Steve and friends wanted a cut of service fees as well. "They would have been stepping in between us and our customers to the point where we would have almost had to take a back seat…on hardware and service support," said Verizon VP Jim Gerace. After being cast out of Verizon's kingdom, Apple approached Cingular/AT&T and the rest, as they say, is history. Could Cingular have agreed to the restrictive terms that Verizon flatly rejected? I sincerely doubt that Steve would have settled for less.

For more on the Apple/Verizon deal that never was:
- see this USA Today article

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