Verizon smashes 4Q with 2 million net adds, Cingular roars with 1.8 million

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Verizon smashes 4Q with 2 million net adds, Cingular roars with 1.8 million
By Kelly Hill
Jan 24, 2006

ATLANTA-In a record-smashing quarter, Verizon Wireless clocked 2 million net customer additions to pull past Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s blockbuster results of 1.8 million net adds.

Verizon Wireless continued its streak of 14 consecutive quarters with double-digit growth, with its customer growth results up 20.5 percent over the fourth quarter of 2004. For the full year of 2005, Verizon added more than 7.5 million net customers, up 19.5 percent over 2004. The carrier ended the year with 51.3 million wireless customers.

Verizon Wireless only released customer numbers; full financial results are expected on Thursday.

Cingular's 1.8 million net adds are more than double the number posted in the third quarter of 2005. Along with strong customer numbers, Cingular Wireless reported its lowest ever churn rate of 2.1 percent; postpaid churn was a mere 1.9 percent. Cingular reported that its GSM network accounted for 95 percent of minutes used on its network during the fourth quarter, and 86 percent of its subscribers had GSM handsets.

However, the carrier's annual revenue per user checked in at $48.86, down 2.2 percent from pro forma ARPU from the same quarter last year. Cingular cited pressure on voice revenue due to an increase in lower-revenue customers as the wireless market saturates. Meanwhile, Cingular's data ARPU came in at $4.71, up 63 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004 and nine percent from the third quarter of 2005. Cingular closed out the year with 54.1 million wireless customers, five million more than last year.

"Cingular finished 2005 on a high note," said Stan Sigman, president and chief executive officer of Cingular.

The carrier's normalized total operating revenue was up 24.3 percent over the same quarter last year, from $7.12 billion to $8.85 billion. Normalized net income registered at $811 million for the quarter and $2.6 billion for the year.

The results announced today could put the industry on track for its biggest quarter ever in terms of customer growth. Besides the figures from Verizon Wireless and Cingular, T-Mobile USA Inc. is slated to release customer numbers this week as well. Sprint Nextel Corp.'s numbers are expected in late February.

http://www.rcrnews.com/news.cms?newsId=25413

[larry]

I wonder why Sprint Nextel is waiting until late Februray to report.

[DandyDon]

Yeah I don't know why either, Nextel I believe has always been late to release their numbers. It will be interesting to see their numbers.

[xenophon]

Found this on google news...

____
The nation’s two largest cell-phone companies signed up 28 customers a minute during the last three months of the year, setting a new record for the industry.

Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 wireless company, said today the company added 2 million customers during the last three months of the year. No. 1 Cingular Wireless reported today that it added 1.8 million new customers.

Sprint Nextel, the No. 3 wireless company, isn’t scheduled to report its fourth quarter numbers until Feb. 22. The company earlier projected it would add 1.4 million customers during the quarter.

The record numbers belie projections from some industry analysts that the U.S. wireless market is becoming saturated and subscriber growth is slowing down.

As of today, the CTIA, a trade association for the wireless industry, estimates there are 202.3 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. The current U.S. population is 297.9 million, meaning about 68 percent of U.S. adults and children carry mobile phones.

Verizon outpaced the rest of the industry during 2005. The company added 7.5 million new users, ending the year with 51.3 million subscribers.

Despite that strong growth, Cingular continues to lead the industry. Cingular added 5 million customers during 2005, finishing the year at 54.1 million.

If Sprint adds 1.4 million customers as projected, the company will finish the year at about 47 million customers, adding more than 5 million in 2005.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/13700473.htm

[Matt]

TMO won't report their full financials until March, although they will report 2005 subscriber figures only on Jan 27.

[viewfly]

Cingular annouced a post-pay churn rate of 1.9%, Verizon didn't report anything. Does anyone know what it is? I think I heard that they will report churn on Friday? Why the delay?

[Andy]

Cingular annouced a post-pay churn rate of 1.9%, Verizon didn't report anything. Does anyone know what it is? I think I heard that they will report churn on Friday? Why the delay?

AFAIK Verizon won't release any more specific numbers, including financials, until Thursday or Friday. No idea why.

[larry]

Wow if Verizon adds 2 mil, Cingular 1.8 mil, and Sprint 1.4 mil then which carrier is losing customers??? They all can't add those kinds of numbers.

[Andy]

I bet T-Mobile is high up there as well- if Cingular made 1.8 million mark then T-Mobile should have made at least that too imo.

That's a good question, Larry. I wonder which carrier is loosing customers.

[viewfly]

I think the mobile customers base is far from saturation in the US. IMO, more people are starting with cell phones for the first time.

[larry]

I think the mobile customers base is far from saturation in the US. IMO, more people are starting with cell phones for the first time.

I guess a lot of young people are buying cell phones for the first time and that could help this growth. But I was under the impression that most people in the US already had a cell phone.

[xenophon]

From article above..

As of today, the CTIA, a trade association for the wireless industry, estimates there are 202.3 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. The current U.S. population is 297.9 million, meaning about 68 percent of U.S. adults and children carry mobile phones.

Factor 12% of Americans in poverty and that 1/10 people have no interest in carrying a phone, that leaves 10% more potential customers for all carriers, which is about 30 million people/children. With cheaper family plans and cheap phones, for better or worse, there's a real possibility the under 12 market will grow.

[Matt]

T-Mobile's churn will still be too high to get the huge numbers. They need to have the two year upgrade contracts for a while to help bring down the churn.

The VZW number is known because Vodafone reported today. Verizon Communications has not yet reported.

[Matt]

I think the overall penetration rate has to approach 80% before we will see talk of saturation based on what the rates are in Europe. That works with xenophon's comments.

[viewfly]

From article above..


Factor 12% of Americans in poverty and that 1/10 people have no interest in carrying a phone, that leaves 10% more potential customers for all carriers, which is about 30 million people/children. With cheaper family plans and cheap phones, for better or worse, there's a real possibility the under 12 market will grow.

I think this sounds right. About 70% wireless users, or 202 millions users in the USA. Hmm, imagine if they all become WA forum users.

I wonder if even some of the 'poverty' category would fill up with pre-pay as it seems to work in 3rd world counties where people have no phone,except for a cheap pre-pay to share.

[bobolito]

I think the overall penetration rate has to approach 80% before we will see talk of saturation based on what the rates are in Europe. That works with xenophon's comments.

Let's not forget that wireless growth can always go beyond 100% as it is in some countries already.

[Matt]

Let's not forget that wireless growth can always go beyond 100% as it is in some countries already.

true. I think I've seen 102% recently.

[Fire14]

I bet T-Mobile is high up there as well- if Cingular made 1.8 million mark then T-Mobile should have made at least that too imo.

That's a good question, Larry. I wonder which carrier is loosing customers.

It could be the rural carriers that are starting to loose customers to the National carriers, as well as 1st time customers, I guess when the other smaller carriers start reporting if there churn has been increasing that might be why.

[Andy]

It could be the rural carriers that are starting to loose customers to the National carriers, as well as 1st time customers, I guess when the other smaller carriers start reporting if there churn has been increasing that might be why.

That's a good point, and I wouldn't be surprised, but in some areas, being with a smaller carrier may not only be cheaper as their plans are more attractive, but coverage is often second to none.

[xenophon]

Sprint Nextel also adds 2 million subscribers in Q4 2005, which means Sprint has the highest growth rate. Churn is 2.1%, same as Cingular.

http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/te...FREE&cm_ite=NA

In the fourth quarter, the wireless unit added 2 million net subscribers, including 746,000 under the Sprint and Nextel postpaid brands, 624,000 under the Boost Mobile brand and 651,000 through wholesale channels and from PCS affiliates.

[Shizuka]

I guess a lot of young people are buying cell phones for the first time and that could help this growth. But I was under the impression that most people in the US already had a cell phone.

I think so. Nobody is losing customers in large numbers. More customers have two mobiles phones. Here is the article in USA Today:


http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...llphones_x.htm

[guy2]

Way to go Sprint Nextel

[xenophon]

Way to go Sprint Nextel

If Verizon smashed and Cingular roared, what did Sprint do?

[Matt]

Sprint Nextel also adds 2 million subscribers in Q4 2005, which means Sprint has the highest growth rate.

The beauty about statistics is you can usually bend them to make your argument.

Based on the numbers you're quoting above (and Sprint's year end 47.6 sub figure) I calculated Sprint's sequential growth rate from Q3 to Q4 (the number 2 million above from a 45.6 million figure at the end of Q3) to be 4.2%. T-Mobile, on the other hand, added 1.388M customers in Q4, for a total of 21.7M from 20.3M in Q3, for a growth rate of 6.8% sequentially.

For the year, T-Mobile added 4.7M customers, for a growth rate of 28.5% from year end 2004's figure. Sprint added 6.759M in 2005 from 40.877M at year end 2004 for a 16.5% growth rate in 2005.

[xenophon]

^Point taken, but Sprint is in the 50m range of Cingular and Verizon. Tmobile is < half the size of Sprint. Sprint is not much smaller than Verizon.

[Matt]

True, but there are still 4 national carriers.

[jones]

^Point taken, but Sprint is in the 50m range of Cingular and Verizon. Tmobile is < half the size of Sprint. Sprint is not much smaller than Verizon.

Sprint and Nextel
Network Not Integrated
and Cannot Be Integrated.

So you HAVE TO COUNT
Them as Separate.
How Many are IDEN
and CDMA Customers.

[guy2]

That is not true you do count them together as they are now one company hence the name Sprint Nextel.

[Shizuka]

Being the largest doesn't mean to be the best. What's the point with Corporate America reporting big numbers every Quarter? They want to impress us? Better service and better price will impress me.

[jones]

That is not true you do count them together as they are now one company hence the name Sprint Nextel.

How many are IDEN Customers?
How many are CDMA Customers?

The POINT Is they're Still selling IDEN.
Unlike Cingular which Does NOT sell Analog/TDMA,
or VZW which does Not Sell Analog Anymore.