Communications giant Verizon Communications has hinted strongly that the delayed $5 billion initial public offering (IPO) of its Verizon Wireless subsidiary could come early next year.

The wireless spin-off, a joint venture between the Verizon and U.K.-based Vodafone Group, was originally scheduled to go public last fall but, with the stock market in decline and the telecommunications industry in a state of flux, the company pushed back the IPO filing.

In a conference call to discuss Verizon's third quarter financial results, Verizon chief financial officer Fred Salerno made it clear the IPO filing remained on the front burner. "It might be this year, or very early in 2002."

Given the lukewarm response from investors to the AT&T Wireless offering last April, Verizon would want to time the offering to secure a valuation at the top of the sector.

Verizon, the nation's largest telephone carrier in subscribers, could use the stock market performance and valuation of major competitors Sprint PCS and AT&T Wireless to guide the timing of the IPO.

Sprint PCS, with a market cap of $21 billion, has seen its stock slide more than 40 percent from recent highs while the share price of AT&T Wireless has lost almost 50 percent since a January high in the range of $27.

Verizon Wireless has yet to disclose specific pricing details of the IPO. Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch are co-managers. In the original filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Verizon Wireless said it had more than 25 million subscribers.

The company plans to use the money to finance network expansion and to acquire wireless licenses and other wireless assets.

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