Non-exclusive Apple-Verizon deal could allow iPhone on Sprint, T-Mobile

Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook revealed on Tuesday that his company's agreement with Verizon for the CDMA iPhone is non-exclusive, meaning the new handset could also appear on Sprint's CDMA network.

When asked if the new CDMA iPhone is exclusive to Verizon, Cook called the deal "multi-year" and "non-exclusive." That means the other major CDMA carrier in the U.S., Sprint, could also offer Apple's smartphone, if it were to reach a deal with Apple.

Of course, the non-exclusive deal also leaves open the possibility of a future GSM iPhone offering compatibility with the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S., T-Mobile.

T-Mobile's U.S. network relies on different frequencies in the AWS 3G spectrum, supporting the 1700MHz and 2100MHz bands, while AT&T supports 850MHz and 1900MHz. The current iPhone hardware does not support the 1700MHz frequency, meaning a modification of the hardware would be necessary.

Another possibility could be regional wireless provider MetroPCS, the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. Like Verizon and Sprint, it too operates a CDMA network.

Prior to Tuesday's news, some had speculated that Verizon could pay Apple extra in their deal to keep the iPhone away from other carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint, leaving Apple's smartphone only available from AT&T ant Verizon.

Outside of the U.S., the new CDMA iPhone will likely also allow Apple to make the iPhone available on other carriers like China Telecom. Last October, it was rumored that Apple and China Telecom were already in talks to offer a CDMA variant of the iPhone.