AT&T Announces 'Verizon-Proof' Earnings, iPhone Activations

[Michael Essany]

AT&T announced its quarterly earnings this morning and some are calling the numbers Verizon-proof, at least with regard to the carrier's strong iPhone activation numbers during the first quarter of 2011. Despite the arrival of the iPhone 4 on the Verizon network in the US and months of heated rumors leading up to that eventuality, AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones during Q1, a full 33% increase from Q1 2010.

"We delivered another robust mobile broadband growth quarter for a very solid start to the year," boasted Randall Stephenson, the carrier's chairman and chief executive officer. "We posted double-digit wireless revenue growth, and we set new first-quarter records in total net adds, connected device net adds and smartphone sales. Growth in tablets and other branded computing subscribers also continues to be strong."

But, if truth be told, Stephenson's reference to "growth in tablets" is worth another look, as tablet activations actually grew at a much smaller pace than before, with just 322,000 tablet activations. Still, AT&T says it lured in a total of 62,000 new wireless contract users in the quarter. AT&T's total subscriber base now sits at 97.5 million, a full 12% increase over the last twelve months.

Despite the increased competition in the smartphone and tablet marketplaces and the threat of Verizon eviscerating AT&T's iPhone user base in the US, AT&T proved stronger than many anticipated today with its Q1 earnings - a positive sign for shareholders in the quarter ahead.

Source: Bloomberg

[STM127]

Won't the real test be in June, July, August when AT&T customers' contracts will be ending from the 3GS? Depending on what the differences might exist between the Verizon and AT&T in regards to 3G and 4G, pricing, etc, AT&T might not be boasting then.

Suspicion: I believe the iPhone 5 is on track for a June release. Apple just tightened the leaks this year after last year's incident.

[RICO_]

AT&T is gonna be just fine. Just need to work on their network a little more.

[SoCal Railroader]

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[exNavy]

Let's see what happens after an lte model is released.

[creasy425]

The more money AT&T makes, the less they pay their reps. Makes perfect sense to me (sarcasm).

[thetoothfairy]

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[XFaega]

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Morse Code for LOL

[neonsector]

Verizon proof my a__, they were emailing people with 1000 free rollover mins, they brought the *calling any cellphone unlimited call future* on the table.
Without the any cell phone I woulda been gone already.
Only god knows what they will offer when the iphone is about to be released knowing that the verizon will not only be super reliable but extremely fast as well

[Nickaroni22]

I don't think you'll see much change in this for awhile, the iPhone 5 release may make some difference. If AT&T gets T-Mobile that's gonna make the difference. Verizon is just as irritating as AT&T, both has there positives and negatives. 4G is going to be a concern, will 3G unlimited users be able to get unlimited 4G? Or is this how AT&T and Verizon gets rid of unlimited data users?

[GeoffS4]

Morse Code for LOL

No, actually you typed SOS. Perhaps the most well known msg in morse code. If you want LOL, you will want to use .-.. --- .-..

[sziklassy]

I laugh at all the idiots who proclaimed that ATT would see its death when the iPhone moves to Verizon. I also laugh at all the idiots that proclaimed that Android in the US would meet its death when iPhone hits Verizon.

[DampDesigns]

AT&T will do just fine when "4G" rolls out. I've never been somewhere and been unhappy with AT&T's service. Most places I'm at have WiFi anyways. You don't have to have 3G to make a call.. AT&T's overall coverage is way better, I'd rather have Edge then nothing. Obviously experiences may vary...

[IXAdamOwnzXI]

AT&T will do just fine when "4G" rolls out. I've never been somewhere and been unhappy with AT&T's service. Most places I'm at have WiFi anyways. You don't have to have 3G to make a call.. AT&T's overall coverage is way better, I'd rather have Edge then nothing. Obviously experiences may vary...

Really? I'm assuming you don't live in NYC because here it's god awful. I've used 3G service on my iphone4 with a bumper both jailbroken and stock and no matter which way you slice it, 3G is god awful in NYC.

[southfrisco]

It will take more than one quarter to determine if people are actually leaving at&t considering they made changes to their plans mid last year (new pricing/caps and higher ETF) to keep customers who upgraded last year from leaving at least for two more years.

Suspicion: I believe the iPhone 5 is on track for a June release. Apple just tightened the leaks this year after last year's incident.

Side note, you really believe that? iOS5 will be shown in June to developers for the first time. Previous iOS versions have been shown in April with a June/July release giving devs three months to work with it. I don't see it. Three months from June puts an iOS5 release (along with new hardware) in late August or September along with iPod Touch/iTunes revisions and the Lion release. That makes much more sense to me. I don't see Apple releasing an iPhone 5 without a new iOS on board.

[bookem15]

AT&T needs to worry about getting 3g to their ENTIRE customer base before bragging about getting 4g rolled out. The people that do not have 3g can leave and go to verizon and get it which will eventually show on these so called great numbers. They are fogetting about the people that are just waiting for their contract to expire so they can go get real 3g service and not have to deal with AT&T any longer. I for one do like AT&T but with no 3g service I can get it by switching to verizon when my contract is up. I just want to see these numbers again after there is a contract cycle, that will show how many people really are not that loyal to AT&T.

Just my .02

[DampDesigns]

Really? I'm assuming you don't live in NYC because here it's god awful. I've used 3G service on my iphone4 with a bumper both jailbroken and stock and no matter which way you slice it, 3G is god awful in NYC.

ya I'm nowhere near there haha but I have been in plenty of large cities and had better luck then my partner which is on Verizon.. like I said though, I'm sure everybody's experience may very. But as far as I'm concerned I'm plenty happy with AT&T and mostly the ability to multitask.. Believe it or not I actually do that quite often haha..

AT&T needs to worry about getting 3g to their ENTIRE customer base before bragging about getting 4g rolled out. The people that do not have 3g can leave and go to verizon and get it which will eventually show on these so called great numbers. They are fogetting about the people that are just waiting for their contract to expire so they can go get real 3g service and not have to deal with AT&T any longer. I for one do like AT&T but with no 3g service I can get it by switching to verizon when my contract is up. I just want to see these numbers again after there is a contract cycle, that will show how many people really are not that loyal to AT&T.

Just my .02

I understand where you guys are coming from but I think you guys are missing the point of this article.. These are numbers on new sign-ups (correct me if I'm wrong). From that fact we can gather that people are still signing up for AT&T even with the option of going to Verizon instead.

[zplit]

Really? I'm assuming you don't live in NYC because here it's god awful. I've used 3G service on my iphone4 with a bumper both jailbroken and stock and no matter which way you slice it, 3G is god awful in NYC.

I live in NYC and don't have any problem with my 3G using both JB and stock and have never use the bumper!!

[rickinsav]

Surprised that no one has brought up (IMHO) a big reason for new signups- $49 3GS model.
Seriously, the average consumer doesn't care about the hype and unlimited data, they want an iPhone and $49 makes it a great bargain. Add to that ATT has cheaper rate plans and unlimited m2m make Total Cost of Ownership a better value than the competition.

Also ATT has faster 3G than Ver. where available.

[Bmxnick101]

Surprised that no one has brought up (IMHO) a big reason for new signups- $49 3GS model.
Seriously, the average consumer doesn't care about the hype and unlimited data, they want an iPhone and $49 makes it a great bargain. Add to that ATT has cheaper rate plans and unlimited m2m make Total Cost of Ownership a better value than the competition.

Also ATT has faster 3G than Ver. where available.

I was going to say the same... The average phone buyer doesn't care how much space it has, it's an iPhone!
My service seemed to be better on Verizon when I lived south of buffalo, AT&T was somewhat spotty. Now I live in the city and t-mobile works for my needs.