Verizon says iPhone announcement would come from Apple

Macworld reports that Verizon President and COO Lowell McAdam made the comments at a press conference at the CTIA conference in San Francisco.

When asked to comment about a story from The Wall Street Journal that Apple will begin building a Verizon-compatible iPhone by the end of the year, McAdam dismissed the story as "one of those things that rolls out every few weeks whether there's a basis for it or not."

"I can't give you any insights," he continued. "But I think Apple is the one that has to make that announcement."

McAdam remains hopeful that a deal will eventually be reached, especially as Verizon rolls out its Long-Term Evolution 4G data network.

“What I’ve always said is I expect at some point in time our business interests are going to align," McAdam said. "I think things like LTE are another great reason why they’d want a device or tablet on that network. But I don’t have anything to say today about timing.”

In September, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg downplayed rumors of an upcoming Verizon iPhone by telling investors that he hopes Apple will work with Verizon to sell an LTE 4G smartphone.

Despite the remarks, rumors have persisted that a CDMA iPhone will arrive in early 2011.