Verizon iPhone part 92

Actually not really a rumor...but the rumors have been running rampant lately.  This is a good article about the current state and differences of Verizon and AT&T's networks.

"Verizon iPhone: What you'll gain and what you'll give up http://bit.ly/d60NjW"

Yep, current Verizon/Sprint CDMA technology doesn't support simultaneous voice and data communication.  I've been after them for the last couple years asking if/when it would happen.  Their answer just seemed to be LTE.  However, the CDMA standards organization ratified EV-DO Rev. B early last year which provides architecture for voice+data transmissions.  Anytime I saw an LTE presentation by VZW I'd ask them if we could get an upgrade to Rev B while we waited for LTE to be built out across the nation.  After all, the legacy CDMA network is HUGE and it would be awesome if it made it to Rev B so that the fall back technology would be adequate, obviously not as fast as LTE but greater functionality is more important than speed sometimes. 

On the topic of speed… CDMA 3G is not the same as GSM/UMTS/HSPA 3G.  EV-DO Rev A from Verizon is not as fast or capable the speed AT&T's 3G network is capable of.  EVDO does have better building penetration and per tower propagation from Verizon because it's on a lower 800MHz block frequency.  Also Verizon's network is already heavily loaded, they're the number 1 wireless carrier with 92 million subscribers.  Current customers experience speeds about 1/4 of what they could be.  I really think Verizon is just as susceptible to the data deluge that AT&T is/was hit by from the iPhone.  Verizon hasn't really lost any ground in the subscriber base, they've kept customers happy with solid phone offerings including the quite successful DROID series.  Oops, better add (TM) to that DROID… wtf George Lucas? 

Anyways, long story short Verizon getting the iPhone may not be the holy grail of device+carrier that everyone is imagining.  And that's not me hating or loving anyone, it's just the reality of current day wireless technology—all carriers have advantages and disadvantages.  Ok, maybe I am hating on big red fanboys a little bit…