Apple’s very lucrative fee sharing arrangement with AT&T over iPhone fees may be coming to an end in favor of a new carrier … Verizon Wireless. The rumors are flying in avid Apple inner circles.

If Apple’s interim CEO Tim Cook considers what to do with the current carrier arrangement over the iPhone, rumors are flying that Verizon Wireless may be courting Cupertino for a similar exclusive arrangement for Apple customer loyalty. But most tech reporters agree that changing one deal with the devil for another is just as bad and Apple should consider tossing iPhone use wide open for all carriers, and customers to enjoy.

The initial arrangement with AT&T for subsidizing the cost of the iPhone was supposed to be for 5 years. In the course of such an arrangement, Apple has enjoyed a very lucrative profit sharing position as provider of the Apple smartphone.

But it seems that support for sticking with AT&T seems to be waining in the hallowed halls of Apple and considering that Verizon has been nipping at Apple’s heels since the iPhone’s inception back in 2007 with a promised iPhone killer (get in line) could it be that Cupertino is finally taking a look at the popular wireless carrier as a potential replacement to MaBell?

Rumors are rumors and Apple is no stranger to them. But frankly, it would be complicated, and a much more lucrative arrangement for Cupertino if they got out of the exclusive deal and opened the iPhone wide open for any carrier to support. They’d probably sell more phones and enjoy better overall service quality.