After Apple revealed its telco partner AT&T for the iPad, analysts now believe it’s a sign that Apple may be interested in staying exclusive with AT&T at least until the end of 2010, if not until 2011 summer, for the iPhone. Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone 4G later in the year, around the same time it does every year.

Barclays Capital Analyst Vijay Jayant believes with Apple announcing AT&T as the partner of choice for the iPad 3G, it’s a sign that the iPhone maker feels comfortable with AT&T and its promised upgrade. We reported earlier that AT&T is in the midst of upgrading its network and has promised to spend $18-$19 billion in 2010 for better stability. Furthermore, Apple has been publicly positive about AT&T, and the extra spend from AT&T may be a good sign. It’s critical for AT&T to try to protect exclusivity when 47% percent of its smartphones business is due to the iPhone.

This obviously leaves Verizon hanging in the middle, despite earlier reports suggesting that an Apple-Verizon deal is imminent.