Verizon will start selling iPhone

By Amy Thomson

Bloomberg News

NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, will start selling Apple's iPhone next year, ending AT&T.'s exclusive hold on the smartphone in the United States, two people familiar with the plans said Tuesday.

The device will be available to customers in January, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information isn't public. Brenda Raney, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, and Peter Thonis, a Verizon Communications spokesman, declined to comment.

The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates.

"The fact is, Apple is going to dramatically increase the number of devices it sells in the U.S. when exclusivity at AT&T ends," said Hodulik, who is based in New York and rates Verizon shares "neutral." ''It's hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced."

Verizon Wireless, which is building a high-speed fourth- generation network, plans to unveil a number of devices that will run on the new technology in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam has said.

Verizon Communications, which co-owns the wireless company with Vodafone Group Plc, rose 28 cents to $28.99 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 3:08 p.m. AT&T declined 54 cents to $24.41. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, dropped $9.45 to $258.85 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.