BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Verizon Wireless could have been the exclusive U.S. carrier for Apple's new iPhone, but said no because it did not like Apple's terms, a company executive says.
Apple wanted a percentage of the monthly cell-phone fees, as well as say over how and where iPhones could be sold and control of the relationship with iPhone customers, Vice President Jim Gerace told USA Today.
One of the disagreements was if an iPhone went haywire, Apple wanted sole discretion over whether to replace or repair the phone, Gerace said. "They would have been stepping in between us and our customers to the point where we would have almost had to take a back seat ... on hardware and service support," he said.
Verizon refused to agree to those terms, he said.
An Apple spokeswoman refused to comment.
Apple later reached a deal with Cingular Wireless, now AT&T, to be iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier, with Apple free to market iPhone globally, the newspaper said.
Neither Cingular nor Apple will discuss the terms of their deal.
The multi-function phones, costing about $500 apiece, will start being sold in June.
