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iPhone partnership boosts popularity

Customer Candace Clark tries her new iPhone at the AT&T store, 5505 E. 41st St., on June 19. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World file

By LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Published: 9/20/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 9/20/2009 12:59 PM

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As the world's largest communications holding company based on revenue, AT&T Inc. has gained even more attention over the last couple of years with the popularity of the iPhone.

AT&T's exclusive right to offer Apple's smart phone has been a boon for the company. In June, AT&T began offering Apple iPhone 3GS, which the company touts as being the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. When the newest iPhones went on sale June 19, the company said it was the best sales day ever for AT&T's retail stores, and att.com experienced its largest order day ever, according to the company's second-quarter report.

For the second quarter, AT&T iPhone activations totaled more than 2.4 million, with more than a third of those activations for new customers.

As the exclusive carrier for the device, AT&T pays a subsidy worth hundreds of dollars per phone to Apple, which some have said depressed AT&T profit margins. Some have questioned what would happen to AT&T if another carrier were allowed to sell it also.

For the first half of the year, net income attributable to AT&T was $6.3 billion, or $1.07 a diluted share, compared with $7.2 billion, or $1.21 a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Among other highlights, AT&T also is the nation's largest Wi-Fi provider, offering customers access at more than 100,000 hot spots around the world with the addition of approximately 7,000 Starbucks locations, according to the company's Web site.

It also is the leading U.S. provider of local and long distance voice services, and, as of the second quarter, was the nation's largest provider of broadband with more than 16.9 million high-speed Internet subscribers.

Laurie Winslow 581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com By LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer

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