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While a roaming agreement is still a far stretch, rumors of a new iPhone model by Apple could be the first bridge to linking AT&T’s GSM/UMTS/WCDMA/HSPA network and the CDMA/WCDMA network operated by Verizon Wireless. The new iPhone model will purportedly run a chip made by Qualcomm and is dubbed “worldmode,” making it possible for the phone to support US and international GSM/3G/HSPA technologies for high speed data, as well as Verizon’s and Sprint’s CDMA/EVDO technology, combining US and international standards. Current world phones today only support 3G on US CDMA/EVDO networks and international HSPA 3G bands, not US HSPA bands.

Other details in the rumor suggest that the new iPhone will move to a smaller 2.8-inch display, down from a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen. Such a move would be seen as going contrary to the popular trend of having larger displays. In the competing Windows Mobile camp, the original Touch Pro launched with a 2.8-inch screen to be replaced by the Touch Pro2 with a 3.6-inch display. Additionally, the new worldmode iPhones will be manufactured by an Asus subsidiary called Pegatron.

A worldmode iPhone would not necessarily mean that iPhone users can freely roam between AT&T and Verizon Wireless. In order to do that, carriers would have to enter into roaming agreements. However, the news of a worldmode phone would be the first of many steps to bring compatibility to the two disparate network technologies in the US. Specific network features such as multiple party conference calling and simultaneous voice and data usage are still network dependent.