Holiday sales of the iPhone 4S started to boost Verizon's revenue in the latest quarter, as subscribers settled in to paying their new monthly bills.
That meant that wireless service revenues grew at their fastest pace in three years at Verizon Wireless. The country's largest cellphone company started selling the iPhone 4 a bit more than a year ago, but sales got a big boost when the 4S model was released in October.
Verizon Communications Inc. reported net income of $1.69 billion, or 59 cents per share, in the first three months of 2012, beating the average forecast of analysts by a penny per share. It was up from $1.44 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 4.6 percent to $28.2 billion, matching expectations.
Verizon shares rose 32 cents to $37.98 in premarket trading.
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