slacker, Cooters: T's fuzzy numbers. Agree with slacker's analysis, with some added gloss. From T's prior quarter 10-Q cited by slacker, T refers to....
"Total subscribers, including partnership markets in which AT&T does not own a controlling interest, were nearly 12 million at the end of the third quarter of 1999."
The following article states that AT&T ended the most recent quarter with 12.2m subs
and in the later data slacker has come up with, it's:
I think I've got T narrowed down to somwhere in-between 200,000 and 400,000 (they had 9.2m "consolidated" subs last quarter and Ruffian's post indicated 9.6m wireless subs at the end of the current quarter).
Thus, T's metrics for reporting wireless subs are:
(i) total subs (including subs of those "partnership markets" in which T does not have a controlling interest; and
(ii) "consolidated subs", which probably means (both in GAAP lingo and as distinguished from "total subs") subs in partnership markets in which T has a controlling interest.
Thus, even the 9.6m vs. 9.2m subs probably includes significant subscriber numbers in entities in which T has a controlling (>50%) but not sole ownership.
My point is, that the 200,000 to 400,000 slacker estimates probably considerably overstates subs that T itself actually added. Presumably, but not necessarily, partnership markets in which T does not have a controlling interest are TDMA. So, whether we're talking 9.6 m. vs. 12.2 million, they're still in the enemy camp. But cutting through the fog, it's interesting to see the emperor's clothes disappearing as we speak, particularly compared to its children's (BAM, SBC etc.)
Steve |
