AT&T said Thursday that fourth-quarter earnings rose over 61 percent, helped largely by its acquisition of BellSouth and the addition of a record 2.7 million wireless customers, many of which are believed to have switched to the provider as a result of Apple’s iPhone.

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For the three-month period ending December, AT&T said net profit rose 61.8 percent to $3.14 billion, or $0.51 a share, up from $1.94 billion, or $0.50 a share during the same period one year ago.

Sales were up some 91 percent to $30.35 billion from $15.9 billion during the year-ago quarter, boosted largely by the provider’s December 2006 acquisition of BellSouth.

During the quarter, AT&T said it added 2.7 million new wireless customers to end at a nation’s best 70.1 million mobile subscribers. The surge, thanks largely to Apple’s iPhone, helped boost wireless revenues by 16.3 percent to $11.4 billion.

Apple said earlier this week that it sold over 2.3 million iPhones during the same three-month period. The net additions to AT&T’s mobile subscriber base are believed to have come largely at the expense of Sprint/Nextel, which warned last week that it had incurred a considerable loss of high-value customers during the December quarter.

AT&T’s ability to maintain strength in its wireless business came as some reassurance to investors, after the company said earlier this month that had been forced to disconnect a number of landline subscribers who were finding it difficult to pay more than one telephone bill.

Still, fears of a growing economic downturn continued to weigh on shares of the telecommunications giant, which were trading down $0.93, or 2.5 percent, to $35.76 in early afternoon trading.

Source: AppleInsider

AT&T Inc today announced that more than 10 million AT&T broadband subscribers will soon have free unlimited access to the company’s nationwide Wi-Fi network, the largest Wi-Fi network in the United States. The offer delivers an annual saving of $60 for AT&T broadband customers, and an annual saving of nearly $240 compared with AT&T Wi-Fi costs for consumers who do not have an AT&T broadband plan.

The enhancement plays directly into the company’s efforts to increase the value of broadband by adding more ways for consumers to stay connected to their worlds. The move also reflects the growing popularity of wireless-enabled devices — from the iPhone to PDAs — as reports claim that more than one-third of Internet users have logged on using a wireless connection from home, at work or someplace else — showing an increase in on-the-go connections1.

“Consumers today expect and demand a premier broadband experience — including a consistent, reliable connection no matter where they are,” said Rick Welday, chief marketing officer, AT&T Consumer, in the press release. “And that’s exactly what we’re focused on. Our priority is to keep our customers connected. Period. Extending our Wi-Fi network supports this effort — and doing so for free combines even greater value with greater connectivity.”

The free Wi-Fi offer will be available to new and existing customers who subscribe to any of AT&T’s broadband services with downstream speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps, 3.0 Mbps, or 6.0 Mbps. Free Wi-Fi access was initially provided to the company’s higher-speed broadband customers last year.

AT&T wireless customers who use Apple Inc.’s iPhone will now be able use their iPhones at hotspots for free if they are AT&T broadband Internet subscribers.

AT&T offers wireless Internet connectivity at more than 10,000 U.S. locations, including retail stores, restaurants and airports from coast to coast.

“AT&T’s legacy is one that has led the way in giving our customers more features and better value — a legacy we intend to keep,” said Welday. “This year, we plan to stand by this commitment by leveraging, and investing, in our network capabilities to bring new enhancements to our broadband service.”

Broadband customers will soon benefit from the free Wi-Fi offer, with qualified broadband plans, upon signing up for AT&T broadband service at a company retail store, online at Att.com or through an AT&T call center. Wi-Fi connectivity will be activated once customers receive their new broadband service and complete both the setup and the registration process as a new customer. A comprehensive list of AT&T Wi-Fi locations can be found here.

AT&T is the largest provider of broadband service, with 13.8 million broadband lines in service as of the third quarter of 2007.

Source: MacDailyNews

According to reports on various sites, AT&T are preparing to introduce the iPhone to Corporate & Business customers over in the US.

Thanks to one of our tipsters, we just got news that AT&T will be announcing iPhone compatibility to corporate and business accounts on January, 21st. The best part? If you have a corporate discounts, they are still valid! There’s said to be special iPhone data plans of $25 or higher that the business customer must subscribe to. Additionally, there will be no equipment discounts (obviously), and there’s a special activation process you’ll have to run through before going to iTunes and activating. This should be available for current and new corporate and business account holders! Now if we could only get some Exchange support…

Original Source: boygeniusreport.com

If this is true, then it might start a trend and might not be too long before UK Business & Corporate customer gain the benefit of the iPhone…

During today’s financial conference call, Apple revealed that they estimate that about 250,000 iPhones were purchased by individuals intending to unlock them. No details on how Apple came to this conclusion. Apple, of course, would know exactly how many iPhones had been activated through AT&T.

Apple shipped 2,164,000 Macintosh(R) computers, representing 34 percent growth over the year-ago quarter and exceeding the previous quarterly record for Mac shipments by 400,000. Apple sold 10,200,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 17 percent growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone sales were 1,119,000, bringing cumulative fiscal 2007 sales to 1,389,000.

Source: MacRumors

The Washington Post reports that AT&T and Verizon made some pre-emptive changes to their contract restrictions last week to try to appease U.S. lawmakers looking to reform the cellphone industry.

Specifically, AT&T said it would replace its $175 cancellation fee with a prorated system allowing customers to pay less towards the end of their contract. AT&T also said that customers would be able to change calling plans without automatically extending their two-year contract.

This should affect all U.S. iPhone owners under AT&T contract.

Source: MacRumors