"Verizon Adds iPhone, MySpace To Announce Layoffs"

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

NPR's business news starts with a clash of the mobile phone carriers.

(Soundbite of music)

INSKEEP: Today, Verizon is expected to announce it will start offering the Apple iPhone 4 in February. Until now, the popular Internet smartphone has been sold exclusively by Verizon's rival, AT&T. That was the only service you could get.

The announcement comes after years of speculation and changes in the competitive landscape of the mobile phone industry. Now, after battling years of complaints about AT&T service, AT&T will have to fight to keep its customers from defecting.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

And in the battle between two social networking sites, one competitor seems to be fading. While Facebook continues to add millions of users, its rival MySpace is expected today to announce that it's laying off more than 500 employees. That's according to today's Wall Street Journal, whose parent company News Corp. also owns MySpace. The layoffs will cut in half the MySpace workforce.

Despite a redesign earlier this year, the focus on music and video entertainment, MySpace has been increasingly overshadowed by Facebook.