Though there have been many rumors floating around for the past few years about Apple moving from the decidedly unstable and lethargic AT&T network to the generally satisfying network of Verizon, I’m here to tell you it ain’t gonna happen. As recently as two weeks ago rumors sprang up again this time with photos of  parts of what looks to be a smaller version of the iphone.  At the same time Verizon was in the middle of its advertising campaign slamming both AT&T and the Apple iPhone. It immediately surprised me that these two things would be happening at the same time.  Would Apple really be ok with it’s hopeful future partner slamming its pride and joy? Doubtful.

Apple is well known for freezing out people who speak against it.  John Carmack, co-founder of ID Software, was quoted by the blog TUAW saying: “I’ll be invited up on stage for a keynote one month and then I’ll say something they don’t like and I can be blacklisted for six months.”

Even going back to the Intel relationship that took so long to cultivate, you can see how Apple’s hurt feelings and stubborn way of doing business ruffled feathers.  Much of this delay was caused by the ill-tempered words said between the two company heads.

Apple has proven that it’s partners will either play by their rules or not play at all.  Everyone should remember that Apple went to Verizon first with the plan of the iPhone. But Verizon acted like Verizon, never quick to adopt new and unproven handsets.  They passed and so Apple went to AT&T.  Without even seeing the proto-type AT&T agreed to Apple’s plan.  AT&T was in need of some revenue and had faith in the-way-of-the-Jobs.

There is nothing to suggest that Apple has forgotten the snub by Verizon and at this point there is no real reason for Apple to partner with Verizon. There are other options.  Both Sprint and T-mobile would certainly benefit more than Verizon by getting the next generation iPhone.

Sprint has the leading 4G network and has committed to moving past 3G in a major way with their WIMAX network.  They also have reasonable all-you-can-eat plans in place and have shown they are willing to take risky steps in order to separate themselves from the competition.  If Sprint was to get the iPhone they would almost certainly be propelled into the front past AT&T.  Sprint would, of course, have to avoid the same pitfalls that befell AT&T.  Spotty network coverage, even in highly populated areas, being the biggest factor.  If they don’t then both Apple and Sprint could see a large backlash from unhappy customers that may have just switched from AT&T hoping that Apple had finally found a fitting network provider for their beloved handheld.

T-mobile, in my opinion, has the most potential for not only improving its customer base and market share here in the US, but also for improving the iPhone itself.  T-mobile has just unveiled a new set of all-you-can-eat plans that are advertised at starting at half the price of its competitors and with any luck would be able to create a similarly competitive plan for the iPhone.  I would hope that Apple would seriously consider building in UMA capabilities so that iPhone could work like the UMA BlackBerry’s that T-mobile already runs.  T-mobile might be the only cell network provider that is not afraid of letting their customers use open Wi-Fi networks to take calls, thus not using their allotted minutes. This feature would also help eliminate the argument about T-mobile’s less than amazing coverage area. Even rural areas have Wi-Fi.  Imagine an iPhone that automatically switched to using the Wi-Fi network of your office or home and no longer cost you precious minutes….ah, what a wonderful dream. T-mobile is huge in the rest of the world and is hungry to capture more of the US market. Getting the iPhone on their side would be a massive win for the company.

Both Sprint and T-mobile would also be more likely to let Apple be Apple and control what it wants to control. Verizon has recently been quoted as saying that they are still hungry for the iPhone, and there is no doubt that the iPhone would benefit from its pre-existing network.  But Verizon should have done their homework and focused their ads on the AT&T and not the Apple iPhone.

Now, with all that said, I will admit that Apple has a tendency for misdirection and proven the power of rumors, especially rumors that last for years, to create frothing early adopters, but I don’t see them playing nice with Verizon anytime soon.  Apple has the power to choose and to bend its partner’s into the shape that they want.  Verizon has been and continues to be a very rigid company who is known for not bending to any imposed will.