Although the iPhone now appears to be AT&T’s ace in the hole, Verizon actually had first dibs on the iPhone, but refused. Reports back in January said that Apple approached Verizon with the iPhone, but the carrier turned it down because it felt that Apple’s terms for exclusivity were unreasonable.

“We said no [to the iPhone offer]. We have nothing bad to say about the Apple iPhone. We just couldn't reach a deal that was mutually beneficial,” said Verizon Wireless vice president Jim Gerace.

Verizon, however, appears to have no regrets on passing up the iPhone, and even believes that the exclusivity of the phone won’t do much to help AT&T. Instead, Verizon believes that it has a superior network and cellular technology.

“The issue is not the Apple-ness of the iPhone itself, but with the cellular network that it is running on,” said Denny Strigl, Verizon’s chief operating officer, insinuating that AT&T’s network is sub-par. “That will be the true test of the iPhone: What will the iPhone experience be?”

Verizon isn’t going to simply play the waiting game while AT&T flashes its iPhone product on every advertising medium available. Although the carrier won’t be getting any Apple products in the near future, Strigl confirmed with USA Today that Verizon is already working with an unnamed manufacturer on a phone that will directly compete against the iPhone.