On Thursday, Verizon Wireless is expected to release a new service that will let some users to select five or ten telephone numbers which they can call for free, in addition to their current call plan.

The new service is very similar to another wireless carrier, called Alltel, which was the fifth wireless telecommunication company in the U.S. Alltel was bought by Verizon in January 2009.

Verizon’s decision to roll out a similar service to My Circle means that Alltel customers who have subscribed to the service since 2006 will have the possibility to use the service from now on, too. Moreover, Verizon will offer the feature, now called Friends & Family, to all of its approximately 84 million subscribers across the United States.

According to the official data about the service, Friends & Family will be launched starting this Sunday. The service will be available for all single-line subscriptions. Customers who pay at least $60 for their monthly plan will receive five numbers, and two-line family subscriptions with a plan of at least $90 will receive ten numbers, which subscribers may call at no charge and without any other limitations.

In order to get the three numbers, customers have to sign up to the service and go online on Verizon’s website and choose their favorite numbers.

Analysts believe that Verizon is trying to strengthen its position of power on the telecommunication industry, as T-Mobile is already offering a similar service, called myFaves.

Verizon is a joint venture between Verizon Communications, which owns 55 percent of the shares and Vodafone Group, which owns 45 percent. Verizon Wireless has become the largest wireless carrier after it had purchased Alltel.