Verizon CFO Reveals Next iPhone to Be a 'Global Device'

Qualcomm's "world-mode" MDM6600 wireless chip found in CDMA iPhone 4 and iPad 2
(Source: iFixit's Verizon iPhone teardown)

Verizon CFO Fran Shammo, asked about the sluggishness of the company's ARPU growth in Q1, when the iPhone was introduced - growth was just 2.2%, compared to 2.5% in Q4, remarked:

"The fluctuation, I believe, will come when a new device from Apple is launched, whenever that may be, and that we will be, on the first time, on equal footing with our competitors on a new phone hitting the market, which will also be a global device."

The existing CDMA iPhone 4 already carries a world-mode wireless chip from Qualcomm inside it, but the company presumably opted to build the device as CDMA-only in order to simplify the antenna construction. The iPad 2 carries the same wireless chip, but Apple still decided not to build a universal global device capable of operating on either standard.

But if Shammo's comment is correct, it appears that Apple may finally make the leap to a single design supporting both CDMA and GSM with the release of the fifth-generation iPhone rumored for introduction in September.