Verizon CEO cancels keynote appearance at CES

A company spokesman cited on Tuesday a scheduling change as the reason McAdam would be unable to attend the show, as noted by Reuters. He also said Verizon was looking into sending a different executive in his place.

The 2012 CES event is set to take place from Jan. 10-13. The run-up to this year's confab made headlines when Microsoft announced that it will no longer have a booth or keynote after 2012.

Verizon Wireless stole some of CES' thunder last year as reports of the imminent announcement of a CDMA-capable iPhone network emerged during the show. Apple and Verizon announced their new partnership just days after the conference wrapped up.

The wireless operator was in the news recently after it reversed plans to charge customers a $2 service fee to pay their bills online or by phone. Verizon announced the plans in late December, but quickly scrapped them after they prompted a widespread customer backlash and potential government scrutiny.