AT&T attracted a net of 200,000 U-verse TV subscribers, reaching a total of 4 million in service at the end of its first quarter. The company added 718,000 U-verse high-speed Internet subscribers to reach a total of 5.9 million.
Combining U-verse high-speed data and DSL results, AT&T added 103,000 wireline broadband connections. In other words, U-verse broadband additions more than offset its DSL losses. The company said it added 718,000 U-verse HSI subs during the quarter.
About 45 percent of U-verse broadband consumers have a plan delivering speeds up to 6 Mbps or higher, versus 35 percent in the year-ago quarter. About three-fourths of AT&T U-verse TV subscribers have a triple- or quad-play option from AT&T. ARPU for U-verse triple-play customers was $169, up slightly year-over-year.
U-verse helped drive AT&T’s wireline revenue up a bit year-over-year. That despite a slight slip in business service revenue.
Despite that dip in business service revenue, AT&T was heartened that revenues from its newer business services, including Ethernet, VPNs, hosting, IP conferencing and application services, grew at a healthy clip – 19 percent.
“Strong smartphone sales drive data sales, and data drives this business,” AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph de la Vega said during an earnings call today.