AT&T revenues climb as subscribers continue to pile on

By Aemon Malone October 21, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

There was plenty of positive news for AT&T today after releasing its financial figures from this year’s third quarter. The company announced its revenues are up $847 million, or 2.8 percent from the same period a year ago, and total net revenue reached $12.3 billion.

The boost in cash flow was in no small part fueled by a big increase in wireless subscribers; AT&T managed to sign up 2.6 million net new wireless subscribers during the quarter and can now boast having almost 93 million wireless subscribers total. The subscriber increase was a third-quarter record for the company. AT&T also managed to make more money off of those subscribers, increasing its average per-subscriber revenue to $62.84 – up to two percent.

Some of AT&T’s success in the wireless market can be attributed to the launch of Apple’s iPhone 4 over the summer. It reported 5.2 million iPhone activations, another quarterly record and a 62 percent increase over the second quarter of 2010. The third quarter was the first full quarter to include iPhone 4 sales data. The new iPhone customers along with the accompanying data plans no doubt helped to fuel earnings, although its uncertain how much longer AT&T will be able to exclusively enjoy the effects of the iPhone’s popularity in the US.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mobile

How to find and use transcripts in Apple Podcasts

An iPhone 15 Pro showing the Podcasts Transcripts feature.

Apple has rolled out iOS 17.4 to iPhones, including the iPhone 15 lineup, and this one has some nice new features that you should notice — like support for third-party app stores in select regions. There's also new emoji, improvements to Apple Music, and more.

Mobile

How to use Apple Cash to send and receive money on your iPhone

Apple Pay Cash

Over the past few years, Apple has been getting perilously close to becoming a full-fledged bank. Features like Apple Pay, Apple Cash, the Apple Card, and the most recent additions, the Apple Card Savings Account and Apple Pay Later service, are blurring the lines between your bank account and your iPhone — and that's not a bad thing for those who enjoy life in Apple's walled garden.

Next to Apple Pay, perhaps the most useful of Apple's iPhone-integrated financial features is Apple Cash. Initially known as "Apple Pay Cash," the company dropped the "Pay" branding a few years ago to simplify things, but it's still the same service it's always been — a Venmo-like money-transfer service that's built into your iPhone and other Apple devices that lets you easily send and receive money via Apple's Messages app, as well as move money to and from your bank account using your debit card and bank transfers right from the iPhone's Wallet app. However, thanks to Apple Pay, Apple Cash goes one step further, giving you a virtual debit card to let you spend money directly at any retailer that accepts Visa Debit. (Apple Cash originally used the Discover card network, but switched to Visa Debit in early 2022.)

Mobile

2024’s coolest iPhone accessory is a throwback to old Android phones

The Nomad Magnetic Leather Back Case on an iPhone 15 Pro.

I’ve long been a fan of leather. It’s probably the metalhead in me. Judas Priest. Metallica. Or maybe it was the smell of the baseball glove when I was younger.

And it hasn’t gone away as I’ve aged. Leather belts. Leather wallets. And, of course, leather phone cases over the years. A ridiculous number of phones and cases, given my profession for the past 15 years. And that means when I saw the Nomad Magnetic Leather Back make an appearance, I knew I had to have one.