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AT&T Announces 3.6 Million iPhones Activated in Q1 2011, Resists Verizon Surge

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AT&T today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2011, offering a glimpse at the performance of a significant partner of Apple's for the iPhone and the first data on the carrier's sales since it lost exclusivity in the United States with the launch of the CDMA iPhone on Verizon.

According to the press release, AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones during the quarter, up nearly a million from the year-ago quarter. The figure has, however, historically included both sales of new devices and re-activations of previously-sold devices either handed down or resold by their owners, making it impossible to correlate the figure directly with Apple's own sales performance.

AT&T reports that 23% of iPhone subscribers were new to AT&T, a figure that has steadily declined over the past year or so as the carrier has increasingly already attracted many of the customers most interested in the device.

Perhaps the most notable piece of data is AT&T's claim that the churn rate for iPhone subscribers was unchanged over the year-ago quarter, indicating that significant numbers of AT&T iPhone customers are not fleeing to Verizon as many observers had expected.

On a broader scale, AT&T reported record smartphone sales of 5.5 million and 10.2% revenue growth in its wireless division. The company's subscriber base also grew by 2 million to reach 97.5 million.

Apple will release its own earnings for the quarter after the markets close later today.

Article Link: AT&T Announces 3.6 Million iPhones Activated in Q1 2011, Resists Verizon Surge
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/20/atandt-announces-3-6-million-iphones-activated-in-q1-2011-resists-verizon-surge/
Even though the percentage of activations which are new customers to AT&T has gone down, I bet the percentage of activations which are new to smartphones (and the nice $15/$25 data fee) is still high. If you activate a hand-me-down iPhone, you probably didn't have a smartphone already.

I was already with AT&T when I got the iPhone 4, but it was my first smartphone.
 
I'm not too surprised really. I stayed with AT&T, I wouldn't switch to Verizon, though Ive been with them before and had no problems but I'm just fine with AT&T now. Plus most people who are on Verizon or on the fence period (no matter what carrier) seem to be holding out to see what's going on with the iPhone 5. So I think it'll be more interesting to see how that pans out when the next gen is released but definitely good look for AT&T.
 
MacRumors said:
Perhaps the most notable piece of data is AT&T's claim that the churn rate for iPhone subscribers was unchanged over the year-ago quarter, indicating that significant numbers of AT&T iPhone customers are not fleeing to Verizon as many observers had expected.
Click to expand...

Well say it ain't so. With Ma Bell's ETFs north of $300, it's suffice to say that anyone with a decent amount of common sense isn't necessarily going to jump ship at those prices. :rolleyes: They really have the customer by the gonads here.
 
Eye4Desyn said:
Well say it ain't so. With Ma Bell's ETFs north of $300, it's suffice to say that anyone with a decent amount of common sense isn't necessarily going to jump ship at those prices. :rolleyes: They really have the customer by the gonads here.
Click to expand...

Many users (if not majority) are still at 175 ETF since the new 300ETF was placed like a year ago. So all those ending contracts and lower than expected ETFs make your point moot.
 
MacRumors said:
Perhaps the most notable piece of data is AT&T's claim that the churn rate for iPhone subscribers was unchanged over the year-ago quarter, indicating that significant numbers of AT&T iPhone customers are not fleeing to Verizon as many observers had expected.
Click to expand...

Those were dubious "observers". The churn rate wouldn't radically change abruptly. Few of are going to dump mid contract. Furthermore the effect is going to be small since the number of iPhone users on ATT's network is relatively small percentage of the overall users. Unless this is specifically churn statistics only for iPhone users, it is going to be hard to observe and will need 6-10 months to manifest. That is what the expectation should have been. Also, I doubt the churn rate was 100% unchanged. This story is shoving some variability under the rug.
 
jav6454 said:
Many users (if not majority) are still at 175 ETF since the new 300ETF was placed like a year ago. So all those ending contracts and lower than expected ETFs make your point moot.
Click to expand...

With 24 month contracts and the huge numbers of iPhone buyers that bought them close to launch times, I don't expect many would have been eligible to walk away without some ETF. Whether that is $175 or $300, it is still a reason to stick with AT&T for a while longer. People that bought their iPhone 3G in 2008 would be eligible to walk, assuming they haven't upgraded since (and many/most have since upgraded to 3GS/4, I expect). But anyone that bought since the 3GS in summer 2009 would still have an ETF hanging over them. Let's see how it works out as existing contracts actually start expiring this summer.
 
I'm not saying there is definitely going to be a switch, but I would expect it to happen with the next hardware refresh. There wasn't really a reason to switch...iPhone 4 was out for over half a year when Verizon got it.
 
Perhaps the most notable piece of data is AT&T's claim that the churn rate for iPhone subscribers was unchanged over the year-ago quarter, indicating that significant numbers of AT&T iPhone customers are not fleeing to Verizon as many observers had expected.
Click to expand...

Because we're locked into ridiculous ETF-laden contracts. July 28th is my escape date.
 
Many ATT customers are still in their contracts, myself included. I got the iPhone 4 after the summer launch in 2010. I'd have to break the contract and get a new phone to go with Verizon. That would be over $600 probably.

The last quarter of 2012 will be a different story, but I don't think it will be as much as people think.
 
MacRumors said:
Perhaps the most notable piece of data is AT&T's claim that the churn rate for iPhone subscribers was unchanged over the year-ago quarter, indicating that significant numbers of AT&T iPhone customers are not fleeing to Verizon as many observers had expected.
Click to expand...

I wonder how many AT&T users are waiting for the iPhone 5 to come out before making the switch. There is a widespread perception that it will be released in June, and many could be waiting for the refresh before switching.
 
ATT has been fine for me in the urban areas. I'm a former Verizon customer. But like most carriers other than Verizon, ATT has poor coverage in rural areas. Well it is sporadic. I'm sure you can find some rural areas with good ATT coverage but there are many locations I've been to where Verizon phones can make a call and phones on other carriers cannot. And I'm not talking about just iphones.

But for most people, the coverage for ATT is probably fine. ATT just needs to improve the coverage a little more to be on par with Verizon.
 
Jumping in Sept

My family is jumping ship in Sept w/the release of the iPhone 5. I have no coverage at my office & my mother, who lives in rural TN has no 3G service.

I am not paying an ETF just to get away from Ma Bell.
 
Hmmm... let's see here:

1. AT&T has cheaper monthly pricing.
2. AT&T has rollover voice minutes.
3. The AT&T iPhone works if you are traveling outside of the United States, whereas the Verizon phone does not. The Verizon phone only works in the U.S.
4. The AT&T iPhone lets you use the Internet while you're on phone calls; the Verizon one does not.
5. The AT&T iPhone has significantly & noticeably faster Internet speeds than Verizon.
6. AT&T will give you a free miniature cell tower for your home or office, if you don't get good signal strength in your house.

Yeah, I think I'll stay with AT&T.

(The real shame is that the iPhone isn't with T-Mobile... now THAT'S a company with excellent customer service.)
 
Full of Win said:
I wonder how many AT&T users are waiting for the iPhone 5 to come out before making the switch. There is a widespread perception that it will be released in June, and many could be waiting for the refresh before switching.
Click to expand...


A more plausible explanation is that the I'm-leaving-ATT-as-soon-as-Verizon-gets-the-iPhone blowhards were hardly representative of the market.
 
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