Verizon Strikes Up the Broadband Subscribers

Analysts say the deal gives Verizon customers more reason to stick around rather than switching to a rival service. And for Yahoo!, it's an opportunity to sell advanced services like video to potentially millions of new broadband customers.

Though the costly fiber effort hasn't won Verizon many fans on the Street, even critics say broadband subscriber growth is key, especially when your core phone business is vanishing rapidly.

"One thing we've found," says the analyst, "broadband growth slows down access line losses."

Verizon is scheduled to report earnings on Jan. 26. The company's shares rose 28 cents to $31.47 in midafternoon trading Thursday.