Verizon: 9.8 million activations during Q4

Summary: In its latest regulatory filing, Verizon says it will see record activations during the fourth quarter, driven mostly by the iPhone.

Following AT&T's move yesterday to dish out the latest details on the state of its affairs, Verizon was next to share its good news.

Verizon said in an 8-K regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has seen 9.8 million smartphone activations during the fourth quarter, with a "higher mix of Apple smartphones."

The filing also said that the firm expects to see 2.1 million retail post-paid net additions during the fourth quarter, but expected the firm's earnings before interest (EBITDA) to be down on the same quarter a year ago.

Filing its comments with the SEC was a formality after Verizon chief executive Lowell McAdam told attendees at CES 2013 this week that his company's fourth quarter was its best ever.

On Tuesday, AT&T said it had activated more than 10 million smartphones during the fourth quarter, an increase from 9.4 million on the same quarter in 2011. AT&T, which has a few million customers shy of Verizon's, said the vast increase in numbers was down to the popularity of iPhones and Android devices.

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