Is Verizon ready for the iPhone?

[Commentary] If the rumors are true that Verizon Wireless is negotiating a deal with Apple for the iPhone, then I have two words of caution for Verizon: Be prepared. AT&T's launch of the iPhone last summer sent its data networks into a tizzy, spawning numerous complaints from customers about less-than-3G performance, extreme network congestion and in some cases 3G outages forcing customers onto the 2G network. At the time, Apple shouldered much of the blame for the capacity problems due to firmware issues on the device, but other studies have shown that AT&T also was a culprit, unable to handle the sudden flood of millions of devices all demanding high-capacity connections to the network. Ultimately those problems didn't hinder the iPhone 3G's rapid proliferation in the U.S. and around the world. Even though customer complaints still persist, AT&T activated 1.6 million iPhones in the first quarter alone. As the iPhone matures, though, customers may not be so tolerant of network problems.