Service Provider News

NTT Surpasses 12.8 Million Optical Access Lines

NTT ended 2009 with 12.779 million FLETs Hikari optical access lines in service, up from 11.1 million nine months earlier. Meanwhile, the number of ADSL accounts fell to 3.55 million, down from d3.99 million nine months earlier.

Citing stiff competition, NTT Group's consolidated operating revenues for the three-month period ended December 31, 2009 were 2,527.6 billion yen (a decrease of 1.6% from the same period of the previous fiscal year), consolidated operating expenses were 2,226.2 billion yen (a decrease of 3.2% from the same period of the previous fiscal year), consolidated operating income was 301.3 billion yen (an increase of 11.9% from the same period of the previous fiscal year), and consolidated net income before income taxes was 298.3 billion yen (an increase of 9.0% from the same period of the previous fiscal year). Consolidated net income attributable to NTT was 136.8 billion yen (a decrease of 0.7% from the same period of the previous fiscal year).

In the fixed-line communications market, the company stressed its expansion of optical services and the accompanying shift from existing fixed-line telephones to optical IP telephones.

NTT endeavored to expand its "FLET'S Hikari Next" service area and the sale of services such as video distribution services that take advantage of the capabilities of its NGN.

NTT East commenced provision of access services with downstream transmission speed of up to 200Mbps, including "FLET'S Hikari Next Family High-speed Type".

NTT said Japan's mobile communications market has continued to mature in line with the rise in cellular penetration rate and increased competition among operators.

Under these market conditions, NTT DOCOMO released 20 different models in its "2009 winter/spring handset" lineup, introducing new features and services, such as the Auto-GPS function that enables the delivery of information linked to user's current location, and "MyArea" wireless coverage, which uses small femtocell base station1 to create a private FOMA area in the home as a stable wireless environment for high-speed packet communication, and to detect registered phones entering/leaving the private FOMA area.

In addition, NTT DOCOMO has taken various steps aimed at enhancing customers' satisfaction, such as the launch of "Mail Tsukai-hodai" ("all-you-can-use mail"), which allows FOMA users to send and receive i-mode mails within Japan on an unlimited basis for a flat monthly rate, as part of its efforts to provide customers with more affordable and easy-to-use billing options.

As a result of these measures, the number of cellular services subscriptions reached 55.44 million, of which 52.05 million were FOMA subscriptions, accounting for 93.9% of all subscriptions.... > More

AT&T Gives Update on Network Upgrade Programs

In its quarterly financial call last week, AT&T executives gave a progress report on the company's network upgrade programs. Some highlights of the call:

In 2009, AT&T added 1,900 new cell sites, more than 100,000 new circuits for backhaul, four times our 2008 total.

The composite quality index for voice on the wireless network was up 22% in 2009.

Data throughput increased more than 19% during the past year.

3G block calls were down 25%.

3G drop calls were down 22%.

Congestion in New York City and San Francisco -- In Manhattan, there are periods when nearly 70% of the devices active on the network are data intensive handsets. AT&T is adding third and fourth radio network carriers to maximize capacity on available spectrum. The company is increasing the amount of 3G spectrum and radio capacity by one third in high-volume areas. It is also adding cell towers and upgrading high-capacity antenna systems.

HSPA 7.2 -- AT&T has completed the software upgrade to its 3G network nationwide. It currently offers 10 devices that are HSPA 7.2 Mbps capable. The next step is to build out backhaul, focusing first on highest traffic cell sites.

AT&T anticipates that the majority of mobile data traffic will be carried over fiber-based backhaul by the end of this year.

Already, the first metro clusters with HSPA 7.2 show average throughput increasing nearly 50% during peak conditions.

AT&T has not made a clear declaration on whether it will deploy HSPA upgrades beyond 7.2 Mbps.

Apple's iPad -- AT&T said it will work closely with Apple in planning for iPad connectivity to the network. The iPad will use HSPA 7.2 Mbps. iPad represents a different revenue for AT&T because it is not subsidizing the device.

AT&T is predicting that iPad users will be heavy network users, likely more than iPhone and similar to 3G laptop users. However, many iPad users are likely to use the device at home or in schools, cafes or airports -- places where Wi-Fi networks are usually available. Because users will pay in advance by credit card, AT&T is forecasting that its billing and support costs will be low.

2010 CAPEX -- $18 billion to $19 billion range. That is up 5% to 10% overall versus 2009, with investments in wireless up substantially.

AT&T expects a substantial increase in wireless and backhaul CapEx, which will be about $2 billion.

The amount of new capacity in the wireless network in 2010 will be 2X greater than in 2009.

In 2010, AT&T plans to deploy 2,000 new cell sites. It will also increase deployments of radio network controllers.

Ethernet backhaul connections to cell sites will be 10X greater than in 2009. This includes 3X more fiber-to-the-cell-site departments compared to last year.

LTE trials -- planned for 2 markets in 2010

U-verse -- on track to reach 30 million living units by the end of next year. U-verse revenues nearly tripled over the past year, and on an annualized basis, now approach $3 billion. U-verse TV penetration now approaches 13%, and in areas marketed to for 24 months or more, overall penetration is better than 20%.

An archived webcast is posted in the Investor's section of the company's website.

... > More

AT&T Adds 2.7 million Wireless Subscribers in Q4 2009

In the fourth quarter, AT&T posted a net gain in total wireless subscribers of 2.7 million, the second highest quarterly net add total in the company's history, reflecting rapid adoption of smartphones and emerging devices such as eReaders, netbooks and navigation devices.

AT&T's consolidated revenues totaled $30.9 billion in Q4 2009, compared with $31.1 billion in the year-earlier quarter and up slightly from the third quarter of 2009. Net income was $3.0 billion, diluted earnings per share totaled $0.51 and cash from operating activities totaled $9.0 billion.

For the full year 2009, compared with 2008 results, AT&T's consolidated revenues totaled $123.0 billion versus $124.0 billion; operating expenses were $101.5 billion, compared with $101.0 billion; net income attributable to AT&T was $12.5 billion versus $12.9 billion; and earnings per diluted share totaled $2.12, compared with $2.16.

"We had a solid 2009 and led the industry in the biggest growth driver � mobile broadband," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.

Total 2010 capital expenditures are expected to be in the $18 billion to $19 billion range.

Wireless

Full-year wireless net adds totaled 7.3 million, equaling the company's best-ever annual total, to reach 85.1 million subscribers in service.

Postpaid churn was 1.19 percent, down from 1.20 percent in the year-earlier quarter; total churn was 1.44 percent versus 1.64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Wireless data revenues � from messaging, access to applications and related services � increased $805 million, or 26.3 percent, from the year-earlier quarter to $3.9 billion. Versus the year-earlier quarter, total text messages carried on the AT&T network increased 70 percent to 135 billion and multimedia messages more than doubled to more than 2 billion.

Driven by strong data growth, postpaid subscriber ARPU increased 2.6 percent versus the year-earlier quarter to $61.13. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter AT&T has posted a year-over-year increase in postpaid ARPU. Postpaid data ARPU reached $19.16, up 17.5 percent versus the year-earlier quarter.

The number of postpaid 3G integrated devices on AT&T's network increased by more than 4 million in the fourth quarter and nearly tripled over the past year.

At the end of the year, 46.4 percent of AT&T's 65.1 million postpaid subscribers had integrated devices, up from 27.0 percent a year earlier.

AT&T's fourth-quarter integrated-device growth included 3.1 million iPhone activations, the second highest quarterly total to date, with more than a third of the activations for customers who were new to AT&T. The average ARPU for integrated devices on AT&T's network continues to be 1.8 times that of the company's nonintegrated-device base.

Total emerging devices, including eReaders such as the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader Daily Edition and the Barnes & Noble nook, increased by more than 1 million in the fourth quarter, its strongest quarter in this category to date, predominantly reflected in reseller subscriber totals.

Wireline Operational Highlights

AT&T U-verse TV subscribers increased by 248,000 in the quarter to reach 2.1 million, up more than 1 million over the past year.
Companywide penetration of eligible living units now approaches 13 percent, and across areas marketed to for 24 months or more, overall penetration exceeds 20 percent.
AT&T's total video subscribers, which combine the company's U-verse and bundled satellite customers, reached 4.2 million at the end of the year, representing 16.0 percent of households served.
AT&T U-verse broadband had a net gain of 267,000 wireline consumer subscribers in the fourth quarter. This growth, combined with continued solid gains in standalone broadband, more than offset declines in traditional DSL connections for a 167,000 net gain in consumer wireline broadband connections. Total broadband connections, which include business and consumer wireline subscribers and wireless customers with 3G LaptopConnect cards, increased by 171,000 in the quarter to reach 17.3 million.
AT&T U-verse penetration drove 31.8 percent year-over-year growth in consumer IP revenues (broadband, U-verse TV and U-verse Voice) and a 3.7 percent increase in revenues per household served. Consumer IP revenues now represent 34.7 percent of AT&T's consumer wireline revenues, up from 25.3 percent in the year-earlier quarter.
AT&T's combined wireline consumer TV and broadband connections increased by 394,000 in the quarter and 1.8 million over the full year 2009. AT&T U-verse Voice connections increased by 219,000 in the quarter and 730,000 for the full year 2009. AT&T's total consumer revenue connections at the end of the year were 45.3 million, compared with 45.7 million at the end of the third quarter of 2009 and 47.0 million at the end of 2008, reflecting declines in traditional voice access lines partially offset by increases in broadband, TV and VoIP connections.
Revenues from new-generation capabilities that lead AT&T's most advanced solutions � including Ethernet, VPNs, hosting, IP conferencing and application services � grew 17.0 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, continuing trends of recent quarters.
Total business revenues declined 5.5 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, reflecting economic weakness in voice and legacy data products, and were down just 0.4 percent versus the third quarter of 2009 � their best sequential comparison in five quarters.
Business IP data revenues grew 7.3 percent versus the year-earlier fourth quarter, led by better than 20 percent growth in VPN revenues. Approximately two-thirds of AT&T's frame customers have made the transition to IP-based solutions, which allow them to easily add managed services such as network security, hosting and IP conferencing on top of their infrastructures.
Fourth-quarter total wireline revenues were $16.2 billion, down 5.3 percent versus the year-earlier quarter and down 0.9 percent sequentially � the company's smallest declines in four quarters.

... > More