Verizon Wireless Gains Outpace AT&T

Despite the undeniable success the Apple iPhone has been for AT&T, Verizon might be finding ways to compete even without ability to sell the popular device. In the second quarter of 2010, Verizon Wireless added a net 665,000 contract customers, boosted from the increased demand for its line of Droid smartphones, which run on Google Inc.'s Android software.

AT&T added a net 496,000 contract customers in the same quarter. The impact of iPhone 4 sales will not be reflected in AT&T's performance until the third quarter, though, as sales started at the tail end of the second quarter. That should help AT&T post strong net adds numbers in a quarter that typically is one of the weaker quarters of the year for net adds.

Verizon Wireless Gains Outpace AT&T

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Wireless Again Drives AT&T Results

AT&T's financial results for the second quarter of 2010 were driven by its wireless segment. The company says it added 1.6 million total wireless subscribers and a "record" 3.2 million iPhones.

Customer churn meanwhile has dropped to 1.01 percent for postpaid customers;

1.29 percent churn overall.

AT&T saw a 10.3 percent increase in wireless service revenues, with postpaid subscriber average monthly revenues per subscriber up 3.4 percent.

AT&T also saw 27.2 percent growth in wireless data revenues, year over year.

If there is anything to watch, it is that AT&T is activating fewer new iPhone customers that are new to AT&T. The company is getting a lower mix of iPhone subscribers from rival carriers than it has in the past.

During the second quarter, about 27 percent of its iPhone activations were customers new to AT&T. In the latter quarters of 2009, about 40 percent of iPhone activations were of devices used by customers new to AT&T.

This suggests either that the potential universe of users who want an iPhone is shrinking, either because other reasonably comparable models are available from other carriers, because interest in Android devices is growing, or because smartphone demand overall is shifting in some way to lower-priced devices.

The iPhone exclusive has been a smash hit for AT&T, without any doubt. The danger is the obvious risk that reliance on any single product or customer always has for any firm. When revenue is driven by a single customer, or a few customers, or a single product, a shift in demand can lead to rapid distress.

AT&T Delivers Double-Digit Earnings Growth in Second Quarter, Raises Full-Year Outlook

Jajah Founder’s Next Project Is Mobile Payments

Daniel Mattes, Jajah founder, appears to be targeting online payments for his new company Jumio. It appears Jumio is focused specifically on mobile payments, both between individuals and businesses, with an emphasis on removing fraud and ensuring trust.

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Amazon Kindle At "Tipping Point"?

"We've reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle," Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos says. "The growth rate of Kindle device unit sales has tripled since we lowered the price from $259 to $189."

"In addition, even while our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format," Bezos says. "Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books."

Amazon Media Room

Verizon Wireless 4G Caps "Unfair"?

Verizon Wireless boss Lowell McAdam reportedly said at a Barclays Capital conference that Verizon Wireless likely will move away from unlimited plans on the 4G Long Term Evolution network, instead charging for 'buckets' of megabytes.

That is one more sign of the direction the entire industry will take. Some observers think this is somehow unfair. They sometimes base this belief on the lower "cost per megabit per second" or "cost per transferred megabyte" of a 4G network, compared to a 3G network.

It is no more inherently unfair than a company lowering its headcount, wage rates, reducing advertising or any other steps it may take to keep costs in line with anticipated revenues.

The fundamental trend in the communications business is that the "retail price" of bandwidth keeps dropping. When that happens, providers must sell more units to maintain flat revenue. In a business that also has major declining lines of business, any entity must, over time, reduce its costs in line with the revenue drops in those lines of business as well.

The net effect is a need for greater efficiency, and the lower cost per bit of a 4G network is part of that effort, as much as it is a hedge against constantly-growing bandwidth demand.

Moore's Law adequately captures the typical pace of semiconductor density change. But most of the rest of the natural world cannot improve its performance metrics at that pace. Not batteries, not construction, transportation, manufacturing or marketing cost. Greater efficiency in the transmission network is simply part of preparing for a future where bandwidth costs, per unit, will keep squeezing.

Verizon looking at non-unlimited plans for 4G data