Despite concerns surrounding the network, AT&T posted relatively strong third quarter numbers today. Not only were Earnings Per Share at 54 cents (down year-over-year but up from the previous quarter), but postpaid churn was at 1.17 percent.
Customer numbers looked great as well; they brought in two million net adds, 1.4 million of which were postpaid. The staggering number lies in the number of iPhones activated during the quarter: a whopping 3.2 million. Considering that 4.3 million total devices were activated, it's not only AT&T's best quarter for iPhone activations, but the number represents just under 75 percent of AT&T's total number of phones activated. Based on rumors today, it looks like the iPhone will also be coming to select authorized retailers just in time for the holiday shopping season - a clear indication that AT&T is interested in keeping the iPhone sales as high as possible.
As it stands, AT&T has 81.6 million subscribers, an increase of 6.7 million from this time last year. Data-oriented revenue was up 33.6 percent, signifying the push towards smartphones and other data-centric devices. With these additional funds, what say you AT&T? More network coverage, perhaps?
Source: AT&T
