Verizon chairman and CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg (pictured) surprised investors on the firm’s third-quarter earnings call yesterday by stating that the operator had not given up hope of offering Apple’s iPhone. “This is a decision that is exclusively in Apple’s court,” said Seidenberg, reports Business Week. “We obviously would be interested in any point in the future they thought it would make sense for them to have us as a partner. And so we’ll leave it with them on that score.” His comments were surprising in light of the operator’s recent advertisements attacking the iPhone and its high-profile support for new rival devices such as the BlackBerry Storm2 and the forthcoming Motorola Droid. “We have expanded our base of other devices,” explained Seidenberg. “So our view is to broaden the base of choice for customers and hopefully along the way, Apple as well as others will decide to jump on the bandwagon.” Although AT&T’s exclusive deal to offer the iPhone in the US is thought to be nearing an end, Verizon Wireless – a CDMA operator – is seen as an unlikely candidate to offer the WCDMA/HSPA-based device.

AT&T’s iPhone deal was seen as a factor behind Verizon Wireless trailing its rival in mobile net additions during the third quarter. Verizon Wireless added 1.2 million new mobile customers during the quarter to reach 89 million in total, while AT&T had earlier reported growth of 2 million to 81.6 million. AT&T said it activated 3.2 million iPhones in 3Q09 – the company’s largest quarterly total to date. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Verizon’s third-quarter income fell 30 percent on higher merger and restructuring costs. Profit fell to US$1.18 billion, or US$0.41 a share, from US$1.67 billion, or US$0.59 a share, a year earlier. Excluding charges, earnings fell to US$0.60 from US$0.66, while revenue increased 10 percent to US$27.27 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of US$0.59 on revenue of US$27.17 billion. Verizon Wireless offset weaknesses elsewhere at the firm, reporting revenue growth of 24 percent and higher margins.