AT&T network boost crucial, whether or not Verizon gets iPhone

AT&T is reported to be prepping its network for a head-to-head battle with Verizon, a battle reignited by the availability of the iPhone on CDMA networks. However, the iPhone story is only a rumor at this point, and one that AT&T continues to suggest is not true.

We’re reluctant to brand this particular rumor as truth — this sort of story has been “leaked” before and has proven incorrect — but the story about a massive network upgrade appears to be accurate. We still hear that the upgrade is due to traffic generated by the iPhone, and while congestion could in fact be a point of competition with Verizon, it seems to us that AT&T needs the upgrades, Verizon iPhone or not. It also seems that Verizon would be smarter to go with a 4G iPhone, which would likely mean that competition with AT&T over the gadget wouldn’t develop until 2011.