Wonder where all those eroding cable TV subscribers are going? AT&T (NYSE: T) said it added 218,000 U-verse TV subscribers in the first quarter to hit the 3.2 million subscriber mark. U-verse, AT&T said, is proving to be a sticky service as more than three-quarters of its subscribers have a triple or quadruple (that includes wireless) play.
U-verse ARPU (average revenue per unit) for triple play was $168, up 14.3 percent over the previous year. Overall U-verse penetration is 23.8 percent across all AT&T markets.
U-verse is only the whipped cream on the AT&T pie.
"Mobile broadband networks are driving unprecedented growth and innovation. That's why our agreement to acquire T-Mobile USA ... is so important. Combined, the two companies' spectrum and network assets will allow us to simultaneously address spectrum issues created by this increased demand," Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman-CEO said in an earnings release.
Financially, consolidated revenues were up 2.3 percent ($700 million) to $31.2 billion in the quarter and net income was $3.4 billion compared to $2.5 billion in 2010.
For more:
- see the earnings release
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