NEW YORK (AP) — Starent Networks stands to gain if Apple picks up Verizon Wireless as a carrier for its popular iPhone or a new portable computer, a CL King analyst said Tuesday.

Verizon would need to add capacity on its network to accommodate the extra Web traffic that would come with Apple customers, CL King analyst Lawrence Harris said in a note.

That would likely mean buying equipment from Starent, a Tewksbury, Mass.-based company that makes technology for connecting cell phones to the Internet.

Along with the iPhone, Apple is rumored to be working on a small “tablet”-style computer, something like an oversized iPod.

Harris said a decision from Apple to add Verizon as a carrier for one or both “is becoming increasingly likely.” He said the move makes sense for Apple because it could head off a government investigation of the company’s exclusive deal with AT&T and boost iPhone sales.

Harris reiterated an “Accumulate” rating on Starent shares.