According to Gerard Hallaren, director of research at TownHall Investment Research, AT&T would need to drop some serious cash to get its network on the same level as Verizon’s — (using Dr. Evil voice) five-billion dollars!!! PC World has reported:
AT&T would need to spend about US $5 billion on its wireless network to catch up with the coverage offered by Verizon Wireless.
The $5 billion investment gap could expand to $7 billion because of the need for new backhaul capacity to link AT&T’s wireless network into the wired Internet, Hallaren said.
Although AT&T has been spending more money to improve its network, I wouldn’t expect Verizon-quality service any time soon — certainly not in this economy. Of course there’s always the chance that the Wireless Fairy will fly down from the heavens and improve AT&T’s network with a wave of her magic wand.
That seems like a lot of money that AT&T won't spend. I just read an article in my school newspaper (it's a school publiction that is studet run but it does have national recognition as one of the best in the nation and a top journalism school) that talked about this, and the numbers they showed said that verizon hadn't spent nearly as much money upgrading their network as AT&T had.
It also had a quote from a professor who works with cell phone research A LOT and he said verizon was getting the iPhone in june; not maybe, not might, but they will. I thought that was an interesting quote because he probably has an inside source, but I haven't heard anything for sure until then.