Verizon Wireless Data Tops $1B Phone company rides the coattails of its wireless business.
Red Herring Magazine August 1, 2006 http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=17790&hed=Verizon%20Wireless%20Data%20Tops%20$1B Verizon Communications, the second-largest phone company in the United States, topped $1 billion in wireless data revenue for the first time, while besting analyst expectations in the second quarter. The New York City-based company posted a revenue increase of 26 percent from a year ago to $22.7 billion. The company also reported a significant 24 percent drop in earnings for the quarter, at $1.61 billion compared with $2.11 billion a year ago. But Verizon Wireless' $1-billion milestone in data revenue was significant because the major wireless carriers have been spending heavily on upgrading their networks for data. Data revenues accounted for 12.9 percent of service revenues, which represents an increase from 7 percent in the second quarter of last year. The company now has 28.9 million data customers, reflecting a 52 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago. Verizon Wireless, like market leader Cingular, its wireless competitor, has been upgrading its national network to provide stable data services. But a lack of compelling applications and the cost of data service have kept the wireless data market firmly in the pre-takeoff stage. Cingular Sensation Verizon Wireless added 1.8 million net customers in the second quarter of 2006, for a total of 54.8 million customers nationwide. In comparison Cingular added 1.5 million net customers in the second quarter, taking its market-leading total to 57.3 million cellular/PCS customers. Verizon Wireless on Monday announced Chocolate, a new music-enabled mobile phone from LG Electronics. Chocolate borrows from the ultra-popular iPod in terms of its click wheel and its slim spartan design (see Verizon Debuts Chocolate Music). The phone will sell for $149 and the songs cost $0.99 if purchased from a PC, or $1.99 if purchased and downloaded over the air. Verizon owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, while U.K.-based Vodafone owns the other 45 percent. The two companies have discussed Verizon buying out Vodafone's share of the wireless firm. Verizon shares fell $0.31 to $33.51 in recent trading, while Vodafone shares dropped $0.31 to $21.37. Fiber Growth Verizon added 440,000 net broadband connections, which include both DSL and FiOS, the company's fiber-optic-based service that it is rolling out around the country. "In our wireline business, we continue to see strong demand for broadband services," said Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "Verizon Telecom is tightly controlling costs in traditional businesses as we make the fiber network investments to accelerate growth and market expansion," he added. The company added 111,000 FiOS customers in the second quarter, bringing its total to 375,000 in 16 states. Verizon has a total of 6.1 million broadband connections. The company's wireline operating revenues decreased 6.2 percent compared with the same quarter of last year. The decline was blamed on the erosion of MCI's mass market business. Verizon acquired MCI last year. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
