It has long been rumored that the iPhone is finding its way to Verizon Wireless. The iPad announcement was for a long time thought to also be the time when this would be announced. As we all know, this didn’t happen and we were all left scratching our heads wondering what the industry spies got wrong.

Now in March, the rumor has surfaced once again in the Wall Street Journal, now saying that a Verizon version of the iPhone will be introduced this summer. Is it true? With Apple, how can you really know anything for sure?

ZDNet has a very interesting take on this though: if this rumor is indeed true, new iPhone signups and upgrades on the AT&T network could grind to a halt.

Why?

Well, we’ve all seen the commercials and I think most would agree that Verizon indeed has the larger 3G network, and details such as whether you can surf and talk on the same phone are minor. The very unscientific poll ZDNet has attached to this article asks the question whether a cellphone user would stay with AT&T or switch to Verizon. At the time that I read this article, there were only 18 votes and 83% of those were in favor of switching to Verizon. Naturally, the sample is too small at this point but it will be interesting to see what it says tomorrow.

I think this could be a real danger. Whether the rumor is true or not, AT&T stands to miss out on upgrades and new activations while those that hate the AT&T network eagerly await the same experience on Verizon’s network. Of course, it could go the other way as well. People may wait to renew contracts or sign up in anticipation of the CDMA iPhone.

Ultimately, the question is how many leaks Apple will let leak out. In the end, they’re the ones that really will benefit.

Who knows what will happen in Alaska. Will the CDMA iPhone be exclusive to Verizon or will it be usable on CDMA carries up here, like ACS, MTA and Digitel? What will that mean for AT&T’s customer base up here? Quite an interesting question…time will tell.