Verizon activated about 3.9 million iPhones in Q3 2013

Here's news to warm the hearts of Wall Street analysts who are trying to make predictions in advance of Apple's Q4 2013 earnings call on October 28: Verizon reported that it activated about 3.9 million iPhones during its third fiscal quarter during that same time period.

Not only is that number up 26 percent year over year, but it also represents 51 percent of the total smartphone activations during the quarter. In announcing the news, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo also noted that the company ran into iPhone shortages when the iPhone 5s and 5c were introduced.

The iPhone is resulting in higher wireless data revenue for Verizon as well. Many customers are upgrading from the 3G-based iPhone 4 and 4s to the newer 4G LTE devices (iPhone 5, 5s, 5c), and those users have a tendency to use a lot more bandwidth. Smartphone users now make up 67 percent of Verizon's customer base, with more than 40 percent of its customers now on shared data plans.