Qwest discussing wireless options with Verizon

Apparently dissatisfied with its as-of-yet unprofitable agreement with Sprint, Qwest is reportedly looking elsewhere.

Qwest signed an exclusivity agreement with Sprint, where it bought wholesale buckets of minutes and then resold them to customers. However, the terms also prevented it from offering the latest handsets, which in turn crippled its ability to attact new customers.

The company itself has not confirmed that it was in talks with any single company. However, some acknowledgement of negotiations came from Verizon's CEO Ivan Seidenberg, who said that his company had talked with Qwest about possible arrangements.

It appears as if Qwest would like to see some type of deal come together by the end of the year. With both Sprint and Verizon using the same wireless technology -- CDMA -- a transition would be rather painless for any Qwest subscriber.

Either way, a deal would mark yet another turn in the two telecom's rocky relationship. In early 2005, Qwest sold its spectrum assets across the West to Verizon Wireless for $418 million. This goodwill didn't last long: within months, the two sides became involved in a bitter bidding war over MCI, which Verizon eventually won with an $8.6 billion bid.