Verizon thumps chest after AT&T's subscriber gains
Company releases new subscriber figures a few days ahead of its earnings report. The reason? Must be an alpha thing.
This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.
Verizon Wireless added 1.1 million subscribers in the second quarter, the company said Friday.
The timing of the news is odd given that Verizon reports earnings on Monday. This news couldn't wait a few more days?
Apparently not. After all, AT&T's second quarter highlighted 1.4 million subscriber gains, with a major boost from the release of the iPhone 3GS in mid-June.
Verizon Wireless also noted that it had 87.7 million customers at the end of the quarter. AT&T said it had 79.6 million.
File this statement in the hearing footsteps category. Verizon Wireless wants to make it real clear it's still the biggest dog in the U.S. wireless carrier game--even if it's got AT&T's exclusive deal with the iPhone to contend with.
Unfortunately, Verizon Wireless held back the number I really want to know--churn. AT&T's churn was impressive at 1.09 percent in the second quarter. In any case, a little gamesmanship on Friday is good entertainment.