Rumors are swirling that Apple’s yet-to-be-announced tablet will come with a connection to cellular networks like those run by Verizon and AT&T. Apple, in its infinite secrecy, hasn’t said a word about the tablet, let alone what deals they might be striking with wireless carriers. But there’s another big question: Will any network be ready?

The tablet’s little brother, the iPhone, has already shown how an explosion in data usage can overload a network, in this case AT&T’s. And the iPhone is hardly the kind of data guzzler the tablet is widely expected to be. After all, it’s one thing to squint at movies on a 3.5-inch screen and quite another to watch them in relatively cinematic 10 inches.

“Clearly this is an issue that needs to be fixed,” says Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall. “It can grind the networks to a halt.”

One saving grace is that the tablet, according to The Wall Street Journal, will work on wi-fi, a much faster alternative to cellular networks (where it’s available). A deal to let the tablet work at a chain of wi-fi hotspots like AT&T’s could redirect a lot of traffic, especially if Apple limits how much multimedia people can download via cellular networks, analysts say.

Another is that the tablet, by most accounts, will be significantly more expensive than the iPhone, making it unlikely to suddenly appear in every backpack, purse and oversized cargo pocket. Mr. Marshall expects Apple to sell slightly more than 2 million tablets this year, compared with the 10 million iPhones it sold in 2009.

Verizon, which touts its network as more dependable than AT&T’s, could prove better at handling data traffic. But “frankly, it hasn’t seen a device like the iPhone saturating its network,” says Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu.

Apple is expected to unveil the yet-to-be-named tablet next Wednesday.

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