subscribers

The number of pay TV subscribers in the U.S. declined slightly during the second quarter, but it's the economy and high unemployment--not so-called cord-cutters--that are to blame, according to a new report from In-Stat.

The number of "cord-cutters," or people who go cold turkey on their cable TV in favor of online programming, is actually low and is having a minimal effect on the industry, according to In-Stat's data released yesterday. The report also found that satellite TV and so-called telco TV (such as Verizon's Fios and AT&T's U-verse) both continue … Read more

Sprint Nextel's hot new phones are helping boost the number of subscribers for the first time in a long time. Even so, the company's second-quarter results were down.

For the quarter ended June 30, the wireless carrier reported a net loss of $760 million, compared with a loss of $384 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales dipped to $8.025 billion, a 1.4 percent decline from last year's $8.141 billlion.

On the plus side, Sprint added 111,000 new wireless subscribers for the quarter, its first signs of growth in three years and a welcome … Read more

Sprint Nextel narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter of 2009 as fewer customers dumped its service, but the company brought in less revenue than anticipated.

The company posted a loss of $980 million or 34 cents per share during the three-month period that ended December 31. This is compared to a loss of $1.6 billion, or 57 cents per share, during the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue was down to $7.87 billion from $8.43 billion during the fourth quarter of 2009. Analysts had expected the company to generate about $8.03 billion in revenue, according … Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Verizon Wireless added 1.1 million subscribers in the second quarter, the company said Friday.

The timing of the news is odd given that Verizon reports earnings on Monday. This news couldn't wait a few more days?

Apparently not. After all, AT&T's second quarter highlighted 1.4 million subscriber gains, with a major boost from the release of the iPhone 3GS in mid-June.

Verizon Wireless also noted that it had 87.7 million customers at the end of the quarter. AT&T said it had … Read more

Worldwide subscriptions to telecom-delivered TV are expected to grow threefold by 2012, according to a report released Monday.

Despite the dire economic climate, the number of such subscriptions is expected to reach 71.6 million by that time, according to market researcher In-Stat's report.

Telecom-delivered TV--offered in the United States by AT&T and Verizon Communications--includes IPTV, which is television delivered via Internet Protocol. Elsewhere in the world, France Telecom, Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom, and China Telecom are jumping aboard.

The telecommunications providers are trying to take on the giants of TV service--satellite and cable.

Key markets over the … Read more

The mobile-phone industry is expected to boom, despite the current global financial crisis, thanks to new growth in emerging markets, according to Portio Research.

In a Monday report, the analyst firm predicted that the world's population of mobile-phone users will increase from the current 50 percent to 80 percent in 2013. This translates to a "staggering 5.8 billion people," Portio said.

"The mobile industry continues to confound expectations with spectacular accelerating growth," the report stated, attributing the growth mainly to China and India's markets.

China topped Portio's list of top growth markets, … Read more