The iPhone , introduced in 2007 , continues to advance popularity in the U.S. AT&T says it activated a record 5.2 million iPhones in the third quarter of last year , the most recent fourth for which it has say results . Pent - up demand might crusade Verizon ’s early sale even higher .

However , the sheer popularity of the Apple equipment , and heavy median data employment by those who own one , may also obsess Verizon despite its extremely rated 3 K connection , analyst said Monday .

Some of the military issue AT&T has faced were picky to its meshing and the timing of the iPhone 3 G ’s introduction in 2008 , and perception may have lagged reality as that immune carrier has better its infrastructure , tell Tolaga Research analyst Phil Marshall . In fact , AT&T has steadily increase the maximum fastness of the networks available to the iPhone , and the current iPhone 4 uses an HSPA ( High - Speed Packet Access ) mesh that many reviewer have said can accomplish a downstream speed of 3 M bits per second ( bits per second ) . That compares with between 600 K bps and 1.4 M bps for Verizon ’s 3 G connection , though Verizon ’s is often perceived as the more authentic of the two . In December , Consumer Reports magazinereported survey results that indicate consumers rated AT&T the worst national mobile connection .

But even if Verizon is better set up for the onslaught than AT&T was , it might look interchangeable job in some place , Marshall say .

“ Verizon benefit from the experience that AT&T ’s had … but we ca n’t strike they are in a significantly different lieu relative to AT&T , ” Marshall said . “ dealings is going to be a cock-a-hoop number for everyone . ”

The danger for a fluid operator introducing any blockbuster machine is that it will sell quicker and revolutionise more web function than was expect . AT&T has acknowledge it was caught off guard by the popularity of the iPhone , which was the first of a newfangled generation of smartphones and triggered the mass - market embracing of mobile information in the U.S. In some areas , including place with many other adoptive parent of the iPhone , AT&T gained a repute for shed calls and sometimes sluggish data point speeding . Marshall believes AT&T is still suffering in public opinion for those former experiences even though its meshwork has amend .

A cardinal advantage Verizon would have with an iPhone introduction now is the welfare of time , Marshall and others said .

When the first iPhone was released , it was n’t even equip for 3 chiliad , partly because that web was n’t usable in enough areas . If Verizon introduces its first iPhone on Tuesday , it will do so with a 3 G web already deployed across the country . The carrier ’s current expansion effort is focused on LTE ( Long - Term Evolution ) , which the first Verizon iPhone is not expected to use .

“ Verizon has much more reporting with 3 chiliad than anybody else , ” say ABI Research psychoanalyst Philip Solis . Geographic reportage helps with erect applications such as telematics and boosts user ’ perception of internet quality , he said .

“ It helps that AT&T ran into these problem first , ” Solis say . Among the object lesson Verizon might see from its rival ’s experience is to be prepared to divide cells in densely populated areas , putting up more base stations , though not necessarily more tower , he said .

Verizon can even take a geography lesson from AT&T , know that places such as New York and San Francisco are home to early adopters , so the networks there should probably be reinforced , said analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics .

Beyond that , Verizon should be capable to merely estimate its iPhone sales agreement , look at the connection impact of its existing Android smartphones , and do the math , Entner said .

One way of life Verizon might not play along AT&T is in relying to a great extent on Wi - Fi to bolster insurance coverage , analysts said . AT&T bought hotspot manipulator WayPort in 2008 and now has about 20,000 hotspots in localization such as McDonald ’s and Starbucks . Last class the carrier began to deploy “ red-hot zones ” around larger area such as Times Square in New York and part of the waterfront Embarcadero in San Francisco — not coincidentally , two cities where meshing complaints have been most common . AT&T say its meshing handle more than 100 million Wi - Fi connections in the third quarter of last year , more than in the whole year of 2009 .

Tolaga ’s Marshall gauge that 20 pct of the data traffic from AT&T ’s mobile internet go away through Wi - Fi hot spot .

Verizon has been much less aggressive with Wi - Fi , though it does tender some hotspot . So Verizon will believably rely more on its cellular meshing to meet any rush in demand from the iPhone , Marshall believe .

AT&T ’s use of Wi - Fi show some trade - offs , Marshall said . Wi - Fi can be easy to deploy and does n’t require licensed spectrum , but it gives the carrier less control condition , he said . Wi - Fi networks have fewer mechanisms for capacity management by a carrier . As a result , when AT&T shifts a exploiter from cellular to public Wi - Fi , the iPhone exploiter ’s connection may be more susceptible to retardation when more exploiter jumpstart on the Wi - Fi web , Marshall said . On the other mitt , Verizon may have more work to do if it wants to keep work up up its cellular web to keep up with demand .

Over the foresightful full term , a few factors could aid Verizon do that task , analyst said . As users purchase LTE devices , the burden of their data dealings bypasses the 3 G meshing . Small base stations such as femtocells , in nursing home and other billet with gamy demand , could pick up the slack . And the FCC has designate an interest in discharge up more spectrum for elaborate the capacity of cellular networks .

Entner , of Recon Analytics , tell Verizon ’s connection should be fine in the short runnel .

“ In the long run , it all depends on how much money they put behind it , ” Entner said .