It's what so many people out there are waiting and praying and hoping desperately for: that soon, perhaps very soon, Apple will break its pact of exclusivity with its mobile carrier, AT&T.

With speculation running rampant about what will or will not happen at the upcoming January 27 Yerba Buena Center event, this is one issue, tablet or no tablet, people will be waiting anxiously to see addressed.

Of course, Apple is keeping up a decent face in spite of all the criticism their carrier has come in for, even praising AT&T at times. This is not to say that everyone at Cupertino is deaf to the the howls of complaints that make up the internet conversation regarding the Evil Empire.

In a recent quarterly earnings conference call, according to AppleInsider, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook distanced the company from talk that they might move to a multicarrier arrangement "in every market or that [they] are headed that way in every market." Analysts clearly took this to refer to the American situation where AT&T rules the roost.

When pressed on the benefits of remaining with a single carrier, Cook went out of his way to praise AT&T, noting they had the largest mobile broadband usage of any carrier in the world then following up with the claim that iPhone users have a great experience with the carrier. While this may be backed by research, Cook did then go on to point out the obvious, that AT&T does have its problems though he claimed this was limited to "a few cities."

Still many believe that 2010 will finally be the year that the iPhone loses its AT&T monogamy and rushes headlong into the arms of the dashing stranger in the shadows, Verizon Wireless. For what feels like a major confirmation of some kind of Apple-Verizon hook up, Electronista is reporting a very, very peculiarly timed meeting for Verizon retail managers.

According to an inside source, Verizon is holding their usual quarterly kick-off meeting on January 27th, a date which may sound vaguely familiar to those of you who read the first paragraph of this article. More intriguing still, managers will also be instructed to begin watching a "live webcast" set to start at 1pm EST, the same time as Apple's event on the West Coast.

Whether this proves to be an announcement that Apple is looking for a more open marriage arrangement in regards to the iPhone or that, as other rumors have pegged it, Verizon is set to be one of multiple carriers for the long-awaited tablet, none can as yet say. If there's anything we can guess with some assurance, it's that January 27's event will be must see web TV.