AT&T Reports Record Increase in New Subscribers

[MacRumors]

MacDailyNews reports on AT&T's 3rd quarter financial results. AT&T reports that during the first full quarter of iPhone sales, it mananged to attract 2.0 million new wireless subscribers which was described as "the highest third-quarter subscriber increase in the company’s history."

Apple reported that they had sold 1,119,000 iPhones during this past quarter. The numbers are not directly comparable as a number of the iPhone buyers may have been existing AT&T customers. Meanwhile, it has also been estimated that up to 250,000 of them may have purchased iPhones for the purpose of unlocking them from the AT&T network.

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[spazzcat]

I wounder who will get fired at Verizon Wireless for boneheaded move they made 😀

 

[plumbingandtech]

AT&T exec: Can you hear me now Verizon?

 

[roland.g]

But also think of all the new AT&T accounts where it is a family plan with only 1 iPhone and 1 or more other phones. That is what my wife and I did. She just bought a Nokia while I got an iPhone.

 

[avigalante]

AT&T exec: Can you hear me now Verizon?

Quote of the year. Period.

 

[boss1]

I wonder how "Giftable" the iPhone will be as a product this season. If it proves to be a product that turns out to be the ideal gift for the holiday's as the iPod is then I could easily see Apple totaling over 4 Million sold by Dec 31st . if not i'd say 2 million by the end of 2007 is a fairly good guess

 

[plumbingandtech]

But also think of all the new AT&T accounts where it is a family plan with only 1 iPhone and 1 or more other phones. That is what my wife and I did. She just bought a Nokia while I got an iPhone.

That's so true. + think of all the people that were on the fence at first, have seen it in real life (friends, apple stores) and will get one as soon as their contract ends with their current mobile.


p.s. thanks avigalante 😀

 

[dadallas]

Well my wife and I have 8 months left on our Verizon phones so I just put them on the lowest plan, for us its $10 each. Im going to let those contracts run out so I avoid the $175 cancellation fees. Last week we both bought iPhones and are just having our old numbers forward to our iPhones. For us we couldnt wait any longer. The iPhone is so amazing and well worth any hassle of "switching".

So Im now a proud AT&T customer, all thanks to the iPhone. If it wasnt for the iPhone I wouldnt have switched mid-contract, I would have waited liek we did for the Razr. So I can see how others feel the same way about going to AT&T.

 

[greenBabe]

I was already a Cingular customer ... so my decision was easy. My spousal unit was Verizon ... and after a long particularly annoying call to Verizon customer service he told the rep, and I quote: "Thanks, you just made my decision for me. I'm getting an iPhone." We got his iPhone the next day. Now we keep getting calls from Verizon begging him to come back because they have this "great deal" for him. I wonder if it's one of their iClones?

 

[sccaldwell]

Well my wife and I have 8 months left on our Verizon phones so I just put them on the lowest plan, for us its $10 each.... Last week we both bought iPhones and are just having our old numbers forward to our iPhones.

Um. You could have a real problem there. Unless you're set up differently than most plans, FORWARDING your phone to another number still uses minutes from the original number's plans.

In other words, you might be racking up an ENORMOUS amount of "overage minutes" on your $10 plans. I'd check that before you wind up with a nasty, nasty phone bill.

Craig

 

[longofest]

I wounder who will get fired at Verizon Wireless for boneheaded move they made 😀

No one. I have talked to people at Verizon, and they still believe it is the right choice 🙄

To be honest, it was the right choice if you consider the corporate cultures. Verizon likes to have HEAVY control over the phones, and will even disable features of the phone (see the lawsuits pertaining to the Motorola Bluetooth issues). AT&T is much more free with their handsets.

The cultural issue, and the fact that Apple asked for SO much in return for having an exclusive on the iPhone just didn't mesh with Verizon.

 

[spazzcat]

No one. I have talked to people at Verizon, and they still believe it is the right choice 🙄

To be honest, it was the right choice if you consider the corporate cultures. Verizon likes to have HEAVY control over the phones, and will even disable features of the phone (see the lawsuits pertaining to the Motorola Bluetooth issues). AT&T is much more free with their handsets.

The cultural issue, and the fact that Apple asked for SO much in return for having an exclusive on the iPhone just didn't mesh with Verizon.

True...and the vzw bluthooth issues were how I got out of two contracts and they ended up paying me to move to att. Then I found out about a month later att was getting the iPhone...Was one happy camper🙂

 

[boss1]

No one. I have talked to people at Verizon, and they still believe it is the right choice 🙄

...that's like asking a the loser of the World Heavy Weight Boxing fight if they feel like a loser. They always answer with "Well, I really don't feel like I lost, I gave it my best shot, This is a learning experience, etc etc".

I think that psychologically this falls somewhere around this concept:
When the average person watches TV for example, and someone on TV says, "I can't stand uneducated low lives! and bums! that come to my store!" .
No one watching that TV show would ever say " HEY! thats me he's talking about! an uneducated low life bum!".



On top of that Verizon is a business that should care about their image enough that they wouldn't go around publicly marketing a statement like, "we made a bad choice".

 

[mashinhead]

really at&t is so dense that with that new money they will do nothing to improve their network, customer service, or user experience. SBT (sad but true)

 

[dadallas]

Um. You could have a real problem there. Unless you're set up differently than most plans, FORWARDING your phone to another number still uses minutes from the original number's plans.

In other words, you might be racking up an ENORMOUS amount of "overage minutes" on your $10 plans. I'd check that before you wind up with a nasty, nasty phone bill.

Craig

Thanks for your observation. I kinda forgot about that but I just checked my mins on my other phone and they are very low. Most of everyone now has my new number. Maybe in a few more weeks I will stop call forwarding and just change my voicemail and say to reach please call my new number.

Anyways thanks for the reminder!

 

[plumbingandtech]

really at&t is so dense that with that new money they will do nothing to improve their network, customer service, or user experience. SBT (sad but true)

🙄

AT&T's $2.5B spectrum deal to expand wireless network
Apple's exclusive U.S. iPhone service provider AT&T said Tuesday it has agreed to purchase spectrum licenses from Aloha Partners LP totaling approximately $2.5 billion, expanding its ability to deliver wireless voice, data and video services to customers.

Is that why they just did this?

So they could do more "nothing"?

 

[maestro55]

No doubt that picking up the iPhone was a great move for AT&T, they didn't gain much from me, just a few more dollars a month. I am sure now there are more people using their data plans, too. I had one on my Razr, but surfing the web was nearly impossible, most sites wouldn't load. Now with my iPhone I have used about 10 times as much as I was paying for before. So they are getting the business. Sure people want the phone unlocked, but honestly when you break it down, are the other companies really that much better?

 

[j5045096]

I almost switched...

Well, I had an 8gb iPhone sitting in my car for 3 days, unopened, after I was dazzled by it at the Apple store. I spent 2 hours no joke playing with the thing, making calls on it, using every feature, and finally decided that I would just buy one, do some more research on it and then either activate it or return it.

Here is why I didn't activate it...because as a former Nextel customer and now Verizon, I have to say that Verizon has the best coverage I've ever had and the call quality SOUNDS better than any phone I've ever had. I started reading blogs and forums and kept seeing people RAVE about the iPhone yet comment that it's one flaw was that it was on AT&T. So Verizon has this LG phone that comes out next month and is supposed to be like the iPhone...this would be like Kia saying they have a car coming out that is supposed to be like a Toyota...not buying it. Apple's stuff is awesome - the iPhone is awesome - but I've seen too many people complain about AT&T's service for me to sign away my life for 2 years.

That said, I am no lover of Verizon - lover of their service, but not the company. Their customer support is good but I pay (after taxes) about $120 a month for 1350 minutes and unlimited text. $120 a month--are you kidding me!!?

Mark my words--wifi is everywhere these days. I was sitting in front of a 7-11 needing to check an e-mail -- there was an office building across the street and a dry cleaner a block away...I open my MacBook and there's 6 open networks. ...this is Orlando by the way. I have decided that for me my best bet is to buy an iPod touch and have somebody hack it to run Skype OR to wait for a wifi device like that that will VOIP calls. Cellular is dead--it's expensive to maintain and expensive to use. It's like the difference between driving on gas and electric...AT&T, Verizon, Sprint...antiquated - they're milking us for the last bucks they can knowing that in about 3 years their monopolized market is going to look radically different.

So, do I play with every one of my friends' iPhones? Absolutely. Do I gawk at it and wish I had one? Yes. Do I think it's worth the risk to go from a great sounding phone call to one that may not even have signal? NO NO NO. I'm staying with Verizon...and I suspect that in about 3 months we're going to look back and see several people that DID switch and regret it.

 

[boss1]

....but I've seen too many people complain about AT&T's service for me to sign away my life for 2 years.

......

I'm pretty sure there's a pre paid option, if you still feel like giving the iPhone a shot and trying the AT&T network to see what it's really like for you in your area.

 

[seedster2]

AT&T exec: Can you hear me now Verizon?

They're not doing too bad without the iphone. they still beat wall street projections and continue to sign on a boatload of new subscribers.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/money%2C-money/verizon-earnings-report-iphone-effect-seemingly-non+existent-316358.php

I detest the company and CDMA but I have to hand it to them. They're successful doing it their way

 

[skwoytek]

Thanks for your observation. I kinda forgot about that but I just checked my mins on my other phone and they are very low. Most of everyone now has my new number. Maybe in a few more weeks I will stop call forwarding and just change my voicemail and say to reach please call my new number.

Anyways thanks for the reminder!

I thought Verizon and AT&T just started prorating the early termination fee. So the closer you get to finishing your contract, the less your early termination fee will be.

Still may not be worth the termination fee.