Verizon Wireless looks like it had a big quarter (as expected)....
biz.yahoo.com
Following are third-quarter 2006 highlights for Verizon's Wireless, Wireline and Information Services business segments.
Wireless:
-- Continuing its focus on retail (non-wholesale) customers, Verizon
Wireless added a record 2.0 million net retail customers during the
third quarter. Based on publicly available information, the company
has the largest retail customer base in the industry -- 54.6 million
retail customers of its 56.7 million total customers (which includes
retail and wholesale).
-- Service revenues (which do not include taxes and regulatory fees)
increased 16.5 percent to $8.5 billion for the third quarter 2006.
Total service ARPU increased to $50.59, up 0.9 percent from the similar
period in 2005 and up 1.8 percent from the prior quarter. Retail
service ARPU was higher at $51.21 for the quarter, an increase of
1.2 percent over 2005.
-- Cost efficiency continued to lead the industry, as the company's cash
expense per customer in the third quarter declined 5.0 percent year-
over-year to $27.85.
-- Data services revenues, driven mainly by continued growth in business
data revenues, contributed $1.2 billion, nearly double the amount for
the same period a year ago. In the third quarter, data revenues were
14.1 percent of all service revenues, up from 8.4 percent in the third
quarter of 2005. Data service ARPU continued to grow in the third
quarter, increasing by 69 percent over the year-ago quarter. The
company now has 30.9 million data customers -- a 43 percent increase
compared with third quarter 2005.
-- Continued expansion of the company's national 3G EV-DO high-speed data
network and a leading lineup of business and consumer devices are
propelling its growth in data services revenues. During the third
quarter, Verizon Wireless extended its wireless broadband network reach
to include new areas in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas and Vermont. At the end of the third quarter, 13.7 million
customers had broadband-capable devices, including phones, PDAs,
BlackBerries and laptop PC cards.
-- During the third quarter, the company announced supply agreements with
Nortel and Motorola for CDMA 1xEV-DO Revision (Rev.) A technology,
which will provide significantly faster data speeds for high-bandwidth
wireless services such as VoIP and advanced multimedia applications.
An agreement with Lucent Technologies was announced in June.
-- The company continued to expand its business customer base during the
quarter and introduced new devices to enhance business connectivity,
including the compact, plug-in Novatel ExpressCard for PCs; two Airlink
Wireless rugged modems designed for always-on and location-based
solutions; and the BlackBerry 8703e, which runs on the Verizon Wireless
high-speed broadband network.
-- For consumers, the company launched the G'zOne Type-V, a rugged phone
designed to stand up under the roughest conditions, and the MOTOKRZR
K1m, the latest in a leading lineup of V CAST Music-enabled phones that
allow customers to browse and download from the V CAST Music library of
1.4 million songs. The company now offers 10 music-capable phones,
including the Chocolate(TM), available exclusively from Verizon
Wireless.
-- Get It Now services continued to hit milestones, for the first time in
a single month topping 5 billion text messages and 100 million
picture/video messages exchanged, in September. For the quarter,
Verizon Wireless customers exchanged a total of 14.4 billion text
messages -- a company and industry record -- and nearly 290 million
picture/video messages. Customers also completed more than 68 million
downloads of games, ringtones, ringback tones and exclusive content.
-- Verizon Wireless continued to expand its distribution, adding post-paid
service plans to its prepaid lineup at nearly 1,400 Target stores
nationwide.
-- The company announced plans to add a new customer service center in
Huntsville, Ala., in late 2007 to continue to deliver the best customer
service in the industry to its growing customer base. The facility
also will be home to a business sales team and a national service team
for government customers.
-- During the quarter, the company again received third-party recognition
for the reliability of its network. Verizon Wireless ranked highest
nationally among the top five national wireless providers and scored
significantly above the industry average in the J.D. Power and
Associates Wireless Call Quality Performance Study Volume 2. In
addition, for the sixth consecutive year, Verizon Wireless was included
among Working Mother Magazine's 100 Best Companies for its commitment
to helping parents balance work and family. (Working Mother also
included Verizon Communications separately on this year's list.) |
