The word is that exclusive iPhone carrier AT&T is getting prepared to see the end of iPhone exclusivity and has been adding smartphone devices to their portfolio due to the anticipation of the arrival of the much talked about Verizon iPhone.

According to an article over on TiPb by Andrew Wray, Bloomberg is reporting that…” AT&T Inc., facing the possible loss of its hold on the iPhone, is adding handsets at an accelerating clip and retraining store staff to help reduce reliance on its top-selling smartphone during the holidays. AT&T clearly has tried to diversify themselves away from the iPhone, and that’s probably the right strategy since they’ve relied so heavily on the iPhone these past few years […] this handset strategy could shelter them from some customer losses.”

Apparently the Big Blue has also been revamping several of their stores and offering different smartphones to their staff so they can become “less dependent” on the Apple iPhone before a CDMA iPhone hits Verizon.

It’s no real surprise that the Big Blue wants to up their smartphone offerings in the event of losing exclusivity, and even though in the past AT&T has said they aren’t worried about the iPhone going with Verizon its got to have some affect on their sales once it happens.