AT&T reports earnings, IP-communications growth

AT&T reported a revenue drop for Q3 2009, but while the big news is wireless profits over legacy wireline's continued decline, IP communications and business services shined a little in the iPhone's shadow.

AT&T's revenue dipped from $31.3 billion in the same quarter in 2008 to $30.9 billion. Losses came from the decrease in voice and legacy data services. The company's Q3 09 earnings report highlighted the ongoing growth of wireless and IP-based wireline data and video services offset the declines it saw in legacy voice and data services. IP-based wireline residential U-Verse and business services grew a total of 18.7 percent. In Q3, AT&T added 240,000 new U-Verse TV customers, as opposed to the 232,000 it added in Q3 2008. AT&T now provides U-Verse TV to 1.8 million subscribers many of which also purchase broadband and IP voice. Broadband, U-verse TV and U-verse Voice now represent 32.4 percent of AT&T's consumer wireline revenues.

In addition to the residential IP communications growth, AT&T also reported that its business services grew 16.6 percent.

For more:
- see the earnings release here
- see what FierceTelecom had to say here

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