Verizon To Sell The iPhone

Recently the front display on my phone went blank and now I’m ready to get a new phone, an iPhone. Verizon customers rejoice.

For four years, since Apple introduced the iPhone exclusively on AT&T, Verizon customers have wondered when they would get one to call their own.

The long wait may soon be over. Verizon Wireless is expected to announce this morning that it will start selling a version of the popular smart phone that will run on its network. And the device could be available in a few weeks, according to published reports.

If the speculation is correct, then there’s the potential for millions of new iPhone sales. That’s because one of the main consumer gripes about the existing iPhone has focused on the quality of calls using AT&T’s network. Many analysts expect Verizon to sell a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 that will work on Verizon’s existing 3G network.

Here, a look at a number of unanswered questions swirling about that could impact how fast consumers snap up a Verizon iPhone, including the potential structure of Verizon’s data plans and whether Verizon iPhone users will be able to talk on the phone and go online simultaneously — a feature that Verizon’s network doesn’t support for other smart phones.

 So I wonder,  how many customers are likely to buy an iPhone on Verizon Wireless’ network?
Carl Howe, an analyst for the Yankee Group, expects Verizon to sell 16.5 million iPhones in 2011, with more than half — 9 million iPhone purchases — coming from Verizon’s own subscriber base. He estimates Verizon will steal just under 2 million customers from AT&T’s customer base.