Verizon CEO Seidenberg downplays chance of getting iPhone soon

Verizon CEO hints iPhone not coming soon

NEW YORK — Comments from Verizon Communications Inc. CEO Ivan Seidenberg leave little room for the possibility of a Verizon version of the iPhone in the near future.

Speaking to an investor conference Thursday, Seidenberg said nothing about an iPhone for the company’s current network, but said he hopes Apple Inc. will come around and allow Verizon to sell the phone for a new network it’s building. The “4G” network hasn’t yet opened for service and won’t be complete next year.

Reports regularly surface of an upcoming iPhone version for Verizon’s network, but so far AT&T Inc. has kept its exclusive right to sell the phone in the U.S.