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Verizon Wireless reported on Friday that the company gained 1.1 million customers in the second quarter. Verizon Wireless is a partnership between Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone PLC.

The new growth brought the number of Verizon Wireless customers to 87.7 million. This leads all other carriers. 85.2 million of Verizon’s customers are through retail. This means they were brought in directly under the Verizon wing. The remaining 2.5 million are the result of resellers such as Tracfone Wireless. Verizon’s closest competition is AT&T.

Verizon leads the way in customer count but was bested by AT&T in terms of new customers. AT&T reported 1.4 million new customers for the second quarter. Verizon’s full second quarter financial results will not be fully revealed until Monday.

Without the aid of the Apple iPhone to drive wireless sales, Verizon is managing to keep abreast of AT&T. AT&T was also able to cut prices on older versions of the trendy iPhone which also boosted sales. Verizon is expected to launch a 4G network in 2010. The 4G network promises to handle wireless networks with better quality and speed. AT&T is not expected to deploy a 4G network until 2012.

Verizon threatens to gobble up more of the market share with users switching to the quicker 4G network. Verizon boasts the highest customer retention rate along with expansive and reliable service. As the company brand continues to improve rivals will be playing catch up well into the near future.

Even though businesses (and some residential customers) are cutting land lines due to the recession, J.D.Power and Associates report that Verizon’s telecom data services is top ranked with business customers. This statistic proves that the wireless market is getting bigger and more saturated. If Verizon continues to maintain a solid lead in the wireless market; the company as a whole will only be more dominant as the economy improves.