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REG - AT & T Inc. - 3rd Quarter Results 2017 <Origin Href="QuoteRef">T.N</Origin> - Part 4

- Part 4: For the preceding part double click  ID:nRSK8888Yc 

        (407)          993      -        %  
 U-verse 1                (134)                                                                                                                        (326)  58.9                                (562)          (1,099)  48.9        
 DIRECTV NOW 2            296                                                                                                                          -      -                                   520            -        -           
 Net Video Additions      (89)                                                                                                                         (3)    -                                   (449)          (106)    -           
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 Broadband Net Additions                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 IP                       125                                                                                                                          156    (19.9)                              479            396      21.0        
 DSL                      (96)                                                                                                                         (161)  40.4                                (327)          (506)    35.4        
 Net Broadband Additions  29                                                                                                                           (5)    -                  %                152            (110)    -        %  
 1                        Includes disconnections for customers that migrated to DIRECTV NOW.                                         
 2                        Consistent with industry practice, DIRECTV NOW includes over-the-top connections that are on a free-trial.  
 
 
Operating revenues decreased $72, or 0.6%, in the third quarter and $136, or 0.4%, for the first nine months of 2017,
largely due to lower revenues from legacy voice and data products, partially offset by growth in revenues from consumer IP
broadband services. 
 
As consumers continue to demand more mobile access to video, we provide streaming access to our subscribers, including
mobile access for existing satellite and U-verse subscribers. In November 2016, we launched DIRECTV NOW, our newest video
streaming option that does not require either satellite or U-verse service (commonly called over-the-top video service). 
 
Video entertainment revenues increased $174, or 1.9%, in the third quarter and $480, or 1.8%, for the first nine months of
2017. These increases include a third-quarter 2017 pay-per-view event and reflect a 4.5% and 3.3% increase in average
revenue per linear (combined satellite and U-verse) video connection. Advertising revenues also increased $41 and $113,
respectively. 
 
Linear video subscriber losses, and associated margin pressure, continued their recent trend, with some of the losses due
to the impact from hurricanes as well as tightening of our credit policies. We are also seeing the impact of customers
wanting mobile and over-the-top offerings, which is contributing to growth in DIRECTV NOW connections and partially
offsetting linear video subscriber losses. DIRECTV NOW connections continue to grow as we add eligible devices and increase
content choices. Our strategy to bundle services has positively impacted subscriber trends and churn, with customers who
bundle our wireless and video having nearly half the rate of churn as customers with a single service. Customers with
linear video but no wireless service through AT&T increased churn during the quarter, partially due to pricing increases
associated with annual content cost increases and involuntary churn. 
 
High-speed internet revenues increased $24, or 1.3%, in the third quarter and $222, or 4.0%, for the first nine months of
2017, reflecting a 4.8% increase in IP broadband subscribers when compared to the prior year. Average revenue per IP
broadband connection (ARPU) decreased 3.7% in the third quarter and 0.8% for the first nine months of 2017. Our bundling
strategy is also helping to lower churn for broadband subscribers, with subscribers who bundle broadband with another AT&T
service having about 30% lower churn than broadband-only subscribers. To compete more effectively against other broadband
providers in the midst of ongoing declines in DSL subscribers, we continued to deploy our all-fiber, high-speed wireline
network, which has improved customer retention rates. We also expect our planned 5G national deployment to aid our ability
to provide more locations with competitive broadband speeds. 
 
Legacy voice and data service revenues decreased $219, or 18.8%, in the third quarter and $715, or 19.2%, for the first
nine months of 2017. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, legacy voice and data services represented approximately
8% of our total Entertainment Group revenue compared to 10% for the September 30, 2016 period, and reflect third quarter
and year to date decreases of $148 and $483 in local voice and long-distance, and $70 and $232 in traditional data
billings, respectively. The decreases reflect the continued migration of customers to our more advanced IP-based offerings
or to competitors. At September 30, 2017, approximately 7% of our broadband connections were DSL compared to 10% at
September 30, 2016. 
 
Operations and support expenses increased $225, or 2.3%, in the third quarter and increased $237, or 0.8%, for the first
nine months of 2017. Operations and support expenses consist of costs associated with providing video content, and expenses
incurred to provide our products and services, which include costs of operating and maintaining our networks, as well as
personnel charges for compensation and benefits. 
 
Increased operations and support expenses in the third quarter and for the first nine months of 2017 were primarily due to
annual content cost increases, a pay-per-view event, deferred customer fulfillment cost amortization, and video platform
development costs. Partially offsetting these increases were the impact of our ongoing focus on cost efficiencies and
merger synergies, as well as workforce reductions and lower marketing costs. 
 
Depreciation expense decreased $125, or 8.3%, in the third quarter, and $225, or 5.0%, for the first nine months of 2017.
The decreases were primarily due to our fourth-quarter 2016 change in estimated useful lives and salvage value of certain
assets. Also contributing to lower depreciation expenses were network assets becoming fully depreciated. These decreases
were offset by ongoing capital spending for network upgrades and expansion. 
 
Operating income decreased $172, or 11.6%, in the third quarter and $148, or 3.1%, for the first nine months of 2017. Our
Entertainment Group segment operating income margin in third quarter decreased from 11.7% in 2016 to 10.4% in 2017, and for
the first nine months decreased from 12.4% in 2016 to 12.1% in 2017. Our Entertainment Group segment EBITDA margin in the
third quarter decreased from 23.5% in 2016 to 21.3% in 2017, and for the first nine months decreased from 24.2% in 2016 to
23.3% in 2017. 
 
 Consumer Mobility                                                                                                                                        
 Segment Results                                                                                                                                          
                                     Third Quarter               Nine-Month Period         
                                     2017                  2016  Percent Change            2017      2016  Percent Change  
                                                                 
 Segment operating revenues                                                                                                                               
 Service                             $              6,507        $                  6,914  (5.9)  %        $               19,644    $  20,805  (5.6)  %  
 Equipment                                          1,241                           1,353  (8.3)                           3,635        3,976   (8.6)     
 Total Segment Operating Revenues                   7,748                           8,267  (6.3)                           23,279       24,781  (6.1)     
                                                                                                                                                          
 Segment operating expenses                                                                                                                               
 Operations and support                             4,551                           4,751  (4.2)                           13,599       14,343  (5.2)     
 Depreciation and amortization                      877                             944    (7.1)                           2,621        2,798   (6.3)     
 Total Segment Operating Expenses                   5,428                           5,695  (4.7)                           16,220       17,141  (5.4)     
 Segment Operating Income                           2,320                           2,572  (9.8)                           7,059        7,640   (7.6)     
 Equity in Net Income of Affiliates                 -                               -      -                               -            -       -         
 Segment Contribution                $              2,320        $                  2,572  (9.8)  %        $               7,059     $  7,640   (7.6)  %  
 
 
 The following tables highlight other key measures of performance for the Consumer Mobility segment:  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              September 30,  Percent  
 (in 000s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2017        2016    Change  
 Consumer Mobility Subscribers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 Postpaid                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 26,003      27,374  (5.0)   %  
 Prepaid 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                15,136      13,035  16.1       
 Branded                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  41,139      40,409  1.8        
 Reseller                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 9,800       12,566  (22.0)     
 Connected devices 1, 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   489         936     (47.8)     
 Total Consumer Mobility Subscribers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      51,428      53,911  (4.6)   %  
 1                                                                                                    Includes data-centric devices such as session-based tablets, monitoring devices and postpaid automobile systems. Excludes         
                                                                                                      postpaid tablets. See (2) below.                                                                                                  
 2                                                                                                    Beginning in July 2017, we are reporting prepaid IoT connections, which primarily consist of "connected" cars, as a component of  
                                                                                                      prepaid subscribers. The prepaid subscriber base at September 30, 2017 now includes approximately 543 subscribers that            
                                                                                                      were formerly included in connected devices.                                                                                      
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                       Third Quarter         Nine-Month Period  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Percent                                  Percent  
 (in 000s)                                   2017                                                                                                                                                     2016   Change                      2017             2016  Change   
 Consumer Mobility Net Additions 1, 4                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
 Postpaid                                    102                                                                                                                                                      21     -                  %              127              89       42.7     %  
 Prepaid 5                                   324                                                                                                                                                      304    6.6                               873              1,169    (25.3)      
 Branded Net Additions                       426                                                                                                                                                      325    31.1                              1,000            1,258    (20.5)      
 Reseller                                    (394)                                                                                                                                                    (316)  (24.7)                            (1,345)          (1,140)  (18.0)      
 Connected devices 2, 5                      (18)                                                                                                                                                     41     -                                 87               14       -           
 Consumer Mobility Net Subscriber Additions  14                                                                                                                                                       50     (72.0)             %              (258)            132      -        %  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
 Total Churn 1, 3, 4                         2.37%                                                                                                                                                    2.11%  26 BP                             2.32%            2.06%    26 BP       
 Postpaid Churn 1, 3, 4                      1.17%                                                                                                                                                    1.19%  (2) BP                            1.16%            1.17%    (1) BP      
 1                                           Excludes migrations between AT&T segments and/or subscriber categories and acquisition-related additions during the period.               
 2                                           Includes data-centric devices such as session-based tablets, monitoring devices and postpaid automobile systems. Excludes                 
                                             postpaid tablets. See (5) below.                                                                                                          
 3                                           Calculated by dividing the aggregate number of wireless subscribers who canceled service during a month divided by the total number       
                                             of wireless subscribers at the beginning of that month. The churn rate for the period is equal to the average of the churn rate for       
                                             each month of that period.                                                                                                                
 4                                           2017 excludes the impact of the 2G shutdown and a true-up to the reseller subscriber base, which were reflected in beginning of           
                                             period subscribers.                                                                                                                                                                                          
 5                                           Beginning in July 2017, we are reporting prepaid IoT connections, which primarily consist of "connected" cars, as a component             
                                             of prepaid subscribers, resulting in 97 additional prepaid net adds in the quarter. Had we restated our prior periods, prepaid            
                                             net adds for the comparable periods would have been 381 in the third quarter of 2016, and 1,060 and 1,324 for the first nine months of ,  
                                             2017 and 2016, respectively.                                                                                                              
 
 
Operating Revenues decreased $519, or 6.3%, in the third quarter and $1,502, or 6.1%, for the first nine months of 2017.
Decreased revenues reflect declines in postpaid service revenues due to customers migrating to our Business Solutions
segment and choosing unlimited plans, partially offset by higher prepaid service revenues. Our business wireless offerings
allow for individual subscribers to purchase wireless services through employer-sponsored plans for a reduced price. The
migration of these subscribers to the Business Solutions segment negatively impacted our consumer postpaid subscriber total
and service revenue growth. 
 
Service revenue decreased $407, or 5.9%, in the third quarter and $1,161, or 5.6%, for the first nine months of 2017. The
decreases were largely due to postpaid customers continuing to shift to discounted monthly service charges under our
unlimited plans and the migration of subscribers to Business Solutions. Revenues from postpaid customers declined $419, or
8.6%, in the third quarter and $1,422, or 9.5%, for the first nine months of 2017. Without the migration of customers to
Business Solutions, postpaid wireless revenues would have decreased approximately 4.6% and 5.2%, respectively. The
decreases were partially offset by higher prepaid service revenues of $155, or 10.7%, in the third quarter and $595, or
14.5%, for the first nine months primarily from growth in Cricket and AT&T PREPAIDSM subscribers. 
 
Equipment revenue decreased $112, or 8.3%, in the third quarter and  $341, or 8.6%, for the first nine months of 2017. The
decreases in equipment revenues resulted from lower handset sales and upgrades. As previously discussed, equipment revenue
is becoming increasingly unpredictable as customers are choosing to upgrade devices less frequently or bring their own. 
 
Operations and support expenses decreased $200, or 4.2%, in the third quarter and $744, or 5.2%, for the first nine months
of 2017. Operations and support expenses consist of costs incurred to provide our products and services, including costs of
operating and maintaining our networks and personnel expenses, such as compensation and benefits. 
 
Decreased operations and support expenses for the third quarter were primarily due to lower volumes of wireless equipment
sales and upgrades, which decreased equipment and selling and commission costs, and operational efficiencies. The
nine-month period also reflects lower marketing and advertising costs resulting from the timing of scheduled ad campaigns
and integrated advertising. 
 
Depreciation expense decreased $67, or 7.1%, in the third quarter and $177, or 6.3%, for the first nine months of 2017. The
decreases were primarily due to fully depreciated assets, partially offset by ongoing capital spending for network upgrades
and expansion. 
 
Operating income decreased $252, or 9.8%, in the third quarter and $581, or 7.6%, for the first nine months of 2017. Our
Consumer Mobility segment operating income margin in the third quarter decreased from 31.1% in 2016 to 29.9% in 2017, and
for the first nine months decreased from 30.8% in 2016 to 30.3% in 2017. Our Consumer Mobility EBITDA margin in the third
quarter decreased from 42.5% in 2016 to 41.3% in 2017, and for the first nine months decreased from 42.1% in 2016 to 41.6%
in 2017. 
 
 International                                                                                                                                                 
 Segment Results                                                                                                                                               
                                              Third Quarter               Nine-Month Period         
                                              2017                  2016  Percent Change            2017     2016  Percent Change  
 Segment operating revenues                                                                                                                                    
 Video entertainment                          $              1,363        $                  1,297  5.1   %        $               4,065    $  3,649  11.4  %  
 Wireless service                                            536                             484    10.7                           1,546       1,428  8.3      
 Wireless equipment                                          200                             98     -                              443         297    49.2     
 Total Segment Operating Revenues                            2,099                           1,879  11.7                           6,054       5,374  12.7     
                                                                                                                                                               
 Segment operating expenses                                                                                                                                    
 Operations and support                                      1,937                           1,640  18.1                           5,468       4,951  10.4     
 Depreciation and amortization                               304                             293    3.8                            905         868    4.3      
 Total Segment Operating Expenses                            2,241                           1,933  15.9                           6,373       5,819  9.5      
 Segment Operating Income (Loss)                             (142)                           (54)   -                              (319)       (445)  28.3     
 Equity in Net Income (Loss)   of Affiliates                 17                              1      -                              62          24     -        
 Segment Contribution                         $              (125)        $                  (53)   -     %        $               (257)    $  (421)  39.0  %  
 
 
The following tables highlight other key measures of performance for the International segment: 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                   September 30,  Percent  
 (in 000s)                                                                                                                                                                                                        2017         2016    Change  
 Mexican Wireless Subscribers                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
 Postpaid                                                                                                                                                                                                         5,316        4,733   12.3    %  
 Prepaid                                                                                                                                                                                                          8,231        5,665   45.3       
 Branded                                                                                                                                                                                                          13,547       10,398  30.3       
 Reseller                                                                                                                                                                                                         232          300     (22.7)     
 Total Mexican Wireless Subscribers                                                                                                                                                                               13,779       10,698  28.8       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 Latin America Satellite Subscribers                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 PanAmericana                                                                                                                                                                                                     8,201        7,139   14.9       
 SKY Brazil 1                                                                                                                                                                                                     5,289        5,337   (0.9)      
 Total Latin America Satellite Subscribers                                                                                                                                     13,490      12,476  8.1            %        
 1                                          Excludes subscribers of our International segment equity investments in SKY Mexico, in which we own a 41.3% stake. SKY Mexico  
                                            had 8.0 million subscribers at June 30, 2017 and 7.9 million subscribers at September 30, 2016.                                
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                       Third Quarter          Nine-Month Period  
 (in 000s)                                             2017                                                                                                                                             2016  PercentChange           2017           2016  PercentChange  
 Mexican Wireless Net Additions                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
 Postpaid                                              129                                                                                                                                              163   (20.9)             %          351            444            (20.9)  %  
 Prepaid                                               585                                                                                                                                              606   (3.5)                         1,504          1,670          (9.9)      
 Branded Net Additions                                 714                                                                                                                                              769   (7.2)                         1,855          2,114          (12.3)     
 Reseller                                              (17)                                                                                                                                             (26)  34.6                          (49)           (100)          51.0       
 Mexican Wireless   Net Subscriber Additions           697                                                                                                                                              743   (6.2)                         1,806          2,014          (10.3)     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 Latin America Satellite Net Additions 1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 PanAmericana                                          98                                                                                                                                               (36)  -                             163            73             -          
 SKY Brazil                                            (230)                                                                                                                                            (12)  -                             (260)          (107)          -          
 Latin America Satellite   Net Subscriber Additions 2  (132)                                                                                                                                            (48)  -                  %          (97)           (34)           -       %  
 1                                                     In 2017, we updated the methodology used to account for prepaid video connections, which were reflected in beginning of period  
                                                       subscribers.                                                                                                                    
 2                                                     Excludes SKY Mexico net subscriber losses of 13 for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and additions of 519 for the six         
                                                       months of June 30, 2016.                                                                                                        
 
 
Operating Results 
 
Our International segment consists of the Latin American operations acquired with DIRECTV as well as our Mexican wireless
operations. Video entertainment services are provided to primarily residential customers using satellite technology. Our
international subsidiaries conduct business in their local currency and operating results are converted to U.S. dollars
using official exchange rates. Our International segment is subject to foreign currency fluctuations. 
 
Operating revenues increased $220, or 11.7%, in the third quarter and $680, or 12.7%, for the first nine months of 2017.
The increases include $66 and $416 from video services in Latin America due to price increases driven primarily by
macroeconomic conditions with mixed local currencies. Mexico wireless revenues increased $154, or 26.5%, in the third
quarter and $264, or 15.3%, for the first nine months of 2017, primarily due to growth in equipment revenues as we have
increased our subscriber base, partially offset by competitive pricing for services. 
 
Operations and support expenses increased $297, or 18.1%, in the third quarter and $517, or 10.4%, for the first nine
months of 2017. Operations and support expenses consist of costs incurred to provide our products and services, including
costs of operating and maintaining our networks and providing video content and personnel expenses, such as compensation
and benefits. 
 
The increases in Latin America in the third quarter and for the first nine months were primarily due to higher programming
and other operating costs. The nine-month period was partially offset by foreign currency exchange rates and our
reassessment of operating tax contingencies in Brazil. The increases in Mexico for the first nine months were primarily
driven by higher operational costs, including expenses associated with our network expansion and foreign currency
pressures. 
 
Depreciation expense increased $11, or 3.8%, in the third quarter and $37, or 4.3%, for the first nine months of 2017. The
increases were primarily due to updating the estimated asset lives for video equipment in Latin America and higher capital
spending in Mexico. 
 
Operating income decreased $88 in the third quarter and increased $126, or 28.3%, for the first nine months of 2017, and
were negatively impacted by foreign exchange pressure. Our International segment operating income margin in the third
quarter decreased from (2.9)% in 2016 to (6.8)% in 2017, and for the first nine months increased from (8.3)% in 2016 to
(5.3)% in 2017. Our International EBITDA margin in the third quarter decreased from 12.7% in 2016 to 7.7% in 2017, and for
the first nine months increased from 7.9% in 2016 to 9.7% in 2017. 
 
Supplemental Operating Information 
 
As a supplemental discussion of our operating results, for comparison purposes, we are providing a view of our combined
domestic wireless operations (AT&T Mobility). See "Discussion and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measure" for a reconciliation
of these supplemental measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance
with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. 
 
 AT&T Mobility Results                                                                                                                                  
                                Third Quarter                Nine-Month Period          
                                2017                   2016  Percent Change             2017       2016  Percent Change  
                                                             
 Operating revenues                                                                                                                                     
 Service                        $              14,541        $                  14,964  (2.8)   %        $               43,613    $  44,673  (2.4)  %  
 Equipment                                     2,895                            3,229   (10.3)                           8,508        9,398   (9.5)     
 Total Operating Revenues                      17,436                           18,193  (4.2)                            52,121       54,071  (3.6)     
                                                                                                                                                        
 Operating expenses                                                                                                                                     
 Operations and support                        10,113                           10,697  (5.5)                            30,308       31,822  (4.8)     
 EBITDA                                        7,323                            7,496   (2.3)                            21,813       22,249  (2.0)     
 Depreciation and amortization                 2,010                            2,107   (4.6)                            5,999        6,244   (3.9)     
 Total Operating Expenses                      12,123                           12,804  (5.3)                            36,307       38,066  (4.6)     
 Operating Income               $              5,313         $                  5,389   (1.4)   %        $               15,814    $  16,005  (1.2)  %  
 
 
 The following tables highlight other key measures of performance for AT&T Mobility:  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   September 30,  Percent  
 (in 000s)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2017                             2016     Change   
 Wireless Subscribers 1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
 Postpaid smartphones                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     59,277                           58,688   1.0      %  
 Postpaid feature phones and data-centric devices                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  18,138                 18,700   (3.0)                   
 Postpaid                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 77,415                           77,388   -           
 Prepaid 3                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                15,136                           13,035   16.1        
 Branded                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  92,551                           90,423   2.4         
 Reseller                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 9,877                            12,624   (21.8)      
 Connected devices 2, 3                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   36,398                           30,291   20.2        
 Total Wireless Subscribers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               138,826                          133,338  4.1         
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 Branded Smartphones                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      72,242                           69,752   3.6         
 Smartphones under our installment programs at end of period                                                                                                                                                                                                      31,207                    29,382  6.2   %        
 1                                                                                    Represents 100% of AT&T Mobility wireless subscribers.                                                                                    
 2                                                                                    Includes data-centric devices such as session-based tablets, monitoring devices and primarily wholesale automobile systems. Excludes      
                                                                                      postpaid tablets. See (3) below.                                                                                                          
 3                                                                                    Beginning in July 2017, we are reporting prepaid IoT connections, which primarily consist of "connected" cars, as a component of          
                                                                                      prepaid subscribers. The prepaid subscriber base at September 30, 2017 now includes approximately 543 subscribers                         
                                                                                      that were formerly included in connected devices.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Third Quarter  Nine-Month Period  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Percent                                                          Percent  
 (in 000s)                                                                            2017                                                                                                                                                                        2016    Change                    2017                          2016     Change   
 Wireless Net Additions 1, 4                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 Postpaid                                                                             117                                                                                                                                                                         212     (44.8)   %                      53                               598      (91.1)   %  
 Prepaid 5                                                                            324                                                                                                                                                                         304     6.6                             873                              1,169    (25.3)      
 Branded Net Additions                                                                441                                                                                                                                                                         516     (14.5)                          926                              1,767    (47.6)      
 Reseller                                                                             (392)                                                                                                                                                                       (315)   (24.4)                          (1,342)                          (1,174)  (14.3)      
 Connected devices 2, 5                                                               2,274                                                                                                                                                                       1,331   70.8                            7,102                            4,081    74.0        
 Wireless Net Subscriber Additions                                                    2,323                                                                                                                                                                       1,532   51.6                            6,686                            4,674    43.0        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 Smartphones sold under our installment   programs during period                      3,491                                                                                                                                                                       4,283   (18.5)   %                      10,575                           12,378   (14.6)   %  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 Total Churn 3, 4                                                                     1.32%                                                                                                                                                                       1.45%   (13) BP                         1.35%                            1.41%    (6) BP      
 Branded Churn 3, 4                                                                   1.70%                                                                                                                                                                       1.63%   7 BP                            1.66%                            1.57%    9 BP        
 Postpaid Churn 3, 4                                                                  1.07%                                                                                                                                                                       1.05%   2 BP                            1.07%                            1.04%    3 BP        
 Postpaid Phone Only Churn 3, 4                                                       0.84%                                                                                                                                                                       0.90%   (6) BP                          0.84%                            0.90%    (6) BP      
 1                                                                                    Excludes acquisition-related additions during the period.                                                                                 
 2                                                                                    Includes data-centric devices such as session-based tablets, monitoring devices and primarily wholesale automobile systems. Excludes      
                                                                                      postpaid tablets. See (5) below.                                                                                                          
 3                                                                                    Calculated by dividing the aggregate number of wireless subscribers who canceled service during a month divided by the total number       
                                                                                      of wireless subscribers at the beginning of that month. The churn rate for the period is equal to the average of the churn rate for       
                                                                                      each month of that period.                                                                                                                
 4                                                                                    2017 excludes the impact of the 2G shutdown and a true-up to the reseller subscriber base, which were reflected in beginning of           
                                                                                      period subscribers.                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 5                                                                                    Beginning in July 2017, we are reporting prepaid IoT connections, which primarily consist of "connected" cars, as a component             
                                                                                      of prepaid subscribers, resulting in 97 additional prepaid net adds in the quarter. Had we restated our prior periods, prepaid            
                                                                                      net adds for the comparable periods would have been 381 in the third quarter of 2016, and 1,060 and 1,324 for the first nine months of ,  
                                                                                      2017 and 2016, respectively.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 
 
Operating income decreased $76, or 1.4%, in the third quarter and $191, or 1.2%, for the first nine months of 2017. The
third-quarter operating income margin of AT&T Mobility increased from 29.6% in 2016 to 30.5% in 2017 and for the first nine
months increased from 29.6% in 2016 to 30.3% in 2017. AT&T Mobility's third-quarter EBITDA margin increased from 41.2% in
2016 to 42.0% in 2017 and for the first nine months increased from 41.1% in 2016 to 41.9% in 2017. AT&T Mobility's
third-quarter EBITDA service margin increased from 50.1% in 2016 to 50.4% in 2017 and for the first nine months increased
from 49.8% in 2016 to 50.0% in 2017 (EBITDA service margin is operating income before depreciation and amortization,
divided by total service revenues). 
 
Subscriber Relationships 
 
As the wireless industry continues to mature, future wireless growth will become increasingly dependent on our ability to
offer innovative services, plans and devices and a wireless network that has sufficient spectrum and capacity to support
these innovations on as broad a geographic basis as possible. To attract and retain subscribers in a maturing market, we
have launched a wide variety of plans, including unlimited, as well as equipment installment programs. Beginning in the
first quarter of 2017, we expanded our unlimited wireless data plans to make them available to customers that do not
subscribe to our video services. 
 
ARPU 
 
Postpaid phone-only ARPU was $58.29 for the third quarter and $58.23 for the first nine months of 2017, compared to $59.64
and $59.66 in 2016. Postpaid phone-only ARPU plus equipment installment billings was $68.95 for the third quarter and
$68.94 for the first nine months of 2017, compared to $69.99 and $69.83 in 2016. ARPU has been affected by customers
shifting to unlimited plans, which decreases overage revenues; however, customers are adding additional devices helping to
offset that decline. 
 
Churn 
 
The effective management of subscriber churn is critical to our ability to maximize revenue growth and to maintain and
improve margins. Total churn was lower for the third quarter and first nine months of 2017. Postpaid churn was higher for
the third quarter and first nine months of 2017, driven by higher tablet churn. Postpaid phone-only churn was lower in the
third quarter and first nine months of 2017, despite competitive pressure in the industry. 
 
Branded Subscribers 
 
Branded subscribers increased 1.1% in the third quarter of 2017 when compared to June 30, 2017 and increased 2.4% when
compared to September 30, 2016. Both the sequential and year-over-year increases reflect postpaid subscribers remaining
essentially flat while prepaid subscribers grew 6.7% and 16.1%, respectively. Beginning in July 2017, we are reporting
prepaid IoT connections, which primarily consist of "connected" cars where customers actively subscribe for vehicle
connectivity, as a component of prepaid subscribers. The prepaid subscriber base at September 30, 2017 now includes
approximately 543,000 subscribers that were formerly included in connected devices. 
 
At September 30, 2017, 92% of our postpaid phone subscriber base used smartphones, compared to 90% at September 30, 2016,
with more than 95% of phone sales during both years attributable to smartphones. Virtually all of our postpaid smartphone
subscribers are on plans that provide for service on multiple devices at reduced rates, and such subscribers tend to have
higher retention and lower churn rates. Device connections on our Mobile Share and unlimited wireless data plans now
represent 86% of our postpaid customer base, compared to 83% at September 30, 2016. Such offerings are intended to
encourage existing subscribers to upgrade their current services and/or add connected devices, attract subscribers from
other providers and/or minimize subscriber churn. 
 
Our equipment installment purchase programs, including AT&T Next, allow for postpaid subscribers to purchase certain
devices in installments over a period of up to 30 months. Additionally, after a specified period of time, AT&T Next
subscribers also have the right to trade in the original device for a new device with a new installment plan and have the
remaining unpaid balance satisfied. For installment programs, we recognize equipment revenue at the time of the sale for
the amount of the customer receivable, net of the fair value of the trade-in right guarantee and imputed interest. A
significant percentage of our customers choosing equipment 

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