Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said the chances of an iPhone on his network will be greater once a 4G cellular network is in place, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Seidenberg said in an interview with the Journal that Apple is more likely to want to work with Verizon because of its wider distribution of the 4G standard it will use to supplement, and eventually replace, its 3G network.

The 4G handset will use LTE technology which is the next step along the GSM standard after the current 3G incarnation.

Among U.S. providers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will all cross-over to LTE for their 4G networks, a process expected to happen over the next few years.

Rival Sprint is meanwhile planning on using a version of the WiMax standard for its next-generation handset.