AT&T today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2012, revealing that the carrier activated 3.7 million iPhones during the quarter, down from 4.3 million in the previous quarter as customers begin to slow their purchases ahead of the next-generation iPhone launch.
Notably, AT&T's 3.7 million iPhone activations accounts for roughly 73% of the carriers 5.1 million total smartphone sales during the quarter, down slightly from last quarter's share. With smartphones now accounting for 77% of AT&T's total postpaid device sales, the iPhone represents approximately 55% of the carrier's total phone sales to contract customers, down slightly from last quarter's 60% share.
AT&T sold 5.1 million smartphones in the second quarter. Smartphones represented 77 percent of postpaid device sales. At the end of the quarter, 61.9 percent, or 43.1 million, of AT&T's postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 49.9 percent, or 34.1 million, a year earlier. AT&T's ARPU for smartphones is twice that of non-smartphone subscribers, and about 88 percent of smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk® or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers. More than one-third of AT&T's postpaid smartphone customers use a 4G-capable device.
Android, iPhone and Windows device sales were supported by AT&T's 4G network. Only AT&T's 4G network lets iPhone 4S download three-times faster than any other U.S. carrier's network. In the quarter, the company activated 3.7 million iPhones, with 22 percent new to AT&T.
Although Verizon reported a 16% quarter-over-quarter drop in iPhone sales and AT&T's numbers reveal a similar 14% decline, the performances are generally being viewed as a positive for Apple, which will report its earnings after the close of trading today. Analysts were already expecting Apple's overall iPhone sales to decline this quarter ahead of the next iPhone launch, and with the company's domestic sales holding up relatively well and international sales likely still booming, the company is likely to post solid results for its primary revenue generator.
Top Rated Comments
edit: Sorry, italics above are incorrect. Reading fail.
We all know a chunk of those activations are not new iPhone sales, but new activations for a used device.
- They've been GSM out of the box, since 2007. Tons of AT&T iPhones have been unlocked and are used all over the world, and that helps with resale value or if you decide to switch networks (it makes the AT&T phone worth more).
- They've been able to do Voice & Data at the same time. This isn't a huge deal, but it helps greatly if you're on speakerphone and want to look something up.
- They have the fastest download speeds. Even if iPhones on other networks were getting 100% speed, the AT&T iPhone would still be twice as fast as them.
AT&T was given the original exclusive contract by Apple. AT&T had three years to cultivate a customer base before any of the other telecoms got the opportunity to sale Iphones. That is the reason 73% of AT&T sales are Iphones. Its not because AT&T is doing anything special.