Verizon Wireless activated 1.4 million Long Term Evolution (LTE) devices over the summer, helping to push the company's wireless revenues up to $17.7 billion, rising 9 percent from the same quarter in 2010.

Overall, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)'s profit rose to $1.38 billion, or 49 cents per share, from $659 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier, the operator said on Friday. Revenue rose 5.4 percent to $27.9 billion from $26.5 billion and was slightly ahead of analyst estimates of $27.88 billion, according to Thomson Reuters .

Verizon Wireless added 1.3 million net subscribers, including 882,000 monthly contracts, 86,000 pay-as-you-go users and 367,000 added through resellers.

Clearly the 4G network that the operator has had in operation since last December is attracting subscribers in droves. "Our 4G LTE deployment is going very well and we are now providing service in 165 markets covering more than 186 million people," said CFO Fran Shammo. Verizon Wireless CMO Marni Walden said earlier this week that Verizon will have LTE in 178 markets by year's end. "That's over the half the population," she said at a Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) event, claiming that rivals will take three years or more catch up. (See Photos: Moto Gets Skinny With 4G RAZR.)

More than half of Verizon's 5.6 million smartphones sold in the third quarter were Android devices. Another 2 million were iPhones, Shammo said.

In comparison, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) activated 2.7 million iPhones in the same quarter. Overall, Ma Bell shifted a total of 4.8 million smartphones in the third quarter. (See AT&T Predicts 'Blockbuster' Wireless Q4.)

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile