Oh how nice it would be, the largest cellular network in the United States, with their unlimited data plans and their “stable” cell phone coverage, not to mention their halfway-decent customer service, to include the Apple iPhone in their lineup of handsets. This idea and the many rumors surrounding it is an interesting concept in and of itself.

Ever since the iPhone came out in 2007, there has been speculation as to when it would come out on another network. Some rumors claiming Sprint, others T-Mobile at times, but the spotlight was always aimed at Verizon.

These rumors seem to come and go, and if you look close enough, they typically have a hidden motive. Take for example last summer, the iPhone 4 came out, and within a week there was a rumor that Apple planned on releasing the iPhone in Verizon in the fall of this year with larger storage capacity.

Like the carrot dangling in front of the horse, just the idea of the Verizon iPhone is enough to keep people from jumping ship to AT&T. Some conspiracy theorists will even go as far as to say that Verizon is behind all of these rumors, strategically placing them to keep people from switching to AT&T. Although these rumors cannot be confirmed, you have to wonder who is really behind these leaks.

As of late, not only have the rumors increased in quantity, but in quality. The most recent rumors have been so specific that they seem to be very real, but technical feasibility gets in the way. The reason there’s no iPhone on Verizon is because of how their network is set up. Verizon runs on what is called a CDMA network, while AT&T runs on GSM. These are two different types of mobile telephone networks, their actual inner workings aside, what this means for the iPhone is this: GSM means you can use data and talk on the phone at the same time, whereas on CDMA, you can only do one or the other.

This doesn’t fly with guys in Cupertino, so what can you do? One idea would be to put in two CDMA chips into the phone so it can do both functions, or wait. As you might have seen, the U.S. cellphone carriers are rolling out their 4G networks that allow for increased mobile broadband speeds. Both Verizon and AT&T are going with a network called Long Term Evolution. This new technology could possibly allow for both carriers to carry similar phones. The only problem is, Verizon has just started to roll out LTE, and won’t have it nationwide for quite some time.

So even if it could work from a technical standpoint, is it even legal? From the facts that we do know, AT&T has a contract with Apple for the iPhone for five years. This would mean exclusivity for AT&T through 2012.

Then the real question is, what changes from year to year with this contract? Does it extend with each new iPhone, or is it a new contract entirely since the subject matter has changed every year since the phone has come out. I’m no law expert, but since we have no idea what’s going on behind closed doors, we can’t rule out these as possibilities. Also never to be ruled out is AT&T paying Apple truckloads of cash to keep the exclusivity.

So now we know it just might be possible to make what has been dubbed as the “Jesus Phone” work on the Verizon network. Let’s talk about why you don’t want a Verizon iPhone. You will never be able to tether. Ever. Verizon, just like AT&T doesn’t like you using boatloads of data and will never enable this feature, even if you pay them extra. Which Verizon may do, how can we know for sure.

Verizon will also load your phone up with more bloatware than a computer you buy at the store. Because we all love the V-Cast store right on our home screen, VZ-navigator set as the navigation default and Bing locked in as the search engine, right? Guess what else we didn’t think of? Price.

A Verizon iPhone will cost you your first born child for its monthly service. Verizon will use a pricing model similar to that of Sprint with their Evo 4G. You will have to pay a premium to use their 4G LTE network, so expect an extra $10 or so attached to the standard Verizon data plan.

With monthly plans starting at $39, $40 for data, $20 more for unlimited texting, we’re looking at close to $100 a month, $1,200 a year. This used to be about the price on AT&T, but they recently lowered their data prices; strange coincidence.

So really it’s up to you and your preferences. Depending on how they roll it out, you get to decide: Do you want to be able to make a phone call? If yes, go with Verizon. Do you want a locked-down phone with bloatware, and expensive plans? Then skip Verizon and go with At&T. Will this phone actually come out? I honestly don’t know anymore. It seems like something that will never come true in our lifetime.

At the end of the day, with all the hype involved, it’s just a phone and we need to remember that. But with that being said, there’s nothing like having the entire Internet in your pocket, and although the HTC Evo and other Android phones come close, there’s nothing quite like the iPhone.

And so we wait.