Tuesday's expected announcement won't be the first time Verizon has crossed paths with the iPhone. When Steve Jobs was shopping around the original version of the handset, he approached Verizon--. At the root of the problem were issues of--surprise--money and control.

Apple wanted a cut of monthly subscriber fees and the ability to dictate the terms of sale and maintain a direct relationship with customers. Presumably, Verizon balked at such high demands from a first-time handset manufacturer bringing a totally unproven device to market. Those turned out to be concessions that Cingular (later swallowed up by AT&T) was only too happy to give up, in exchange for an exclusive lock on the device for an unspecified number of years.

Verizon, for its part, has tried to remain stoic in the face of those . But you could almost hear its stomach sinking as the iPhone went on to become a cultural phenomenon, Apple racked up millions of sales, and--most important from Verizon's perspective--AT&T welcomed new subscribers by the bushel, each signing a hefty two-year contract.

The first major rumors of Apple and Verizon striking a deal came in April 2009, more than two years after the iPhone's unveiling. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg told the that he didn't think the iPhone would come to his network until Verizon began to roll out its 4G network (which, we'll note, ). Later that same month, , though that report lacked any major details about a would-be deal.

Not long after that, I , facing off against a formidable opponent (who, I must add, is uncannily handsome and intelligent). At the time, there were plenty of arguments both for and against a deal between AT&T and Verizon--though I think most of us were then assuming that Apple would have to pick one carrier or the other. Of course, Apple has said as far back as 2008 that it's not and in plenty of countries around the world, the company has made deals with more than one carrier, including major markets like the UK, Germany, and France. In fact, the U.S., with its single carrier deal, has almost become the exception to the way Apple runs its iPhone business.