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Verizon’s Unlimited Wireless Offer Boosts Gross Subscriber Additions

6:15 am on March 12, 2008 | Category: Telecom Services, Wireless

The $99.99/month unlimited wireless package unveiled three weeks ago by Verizon Wireless is already beginning to boost gross subscriber additions, said the company’s chief financial officer on Monday.

The plan, which offers unlimited calling within the U.S. for a fixed monthly rate, sent shocks through the wireless industry with rival carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint Nextel introducing their own comparable plans without delay. This frightened many investors, who worried about a dent in overall revenue, but Verizon is now seeking to put these concerns to rest.

“It doesn’t take that many more of the $79.99 folks to go up to $99.99 to offset” the loss in revenue among high-volume customers, said Verizon CFO, Doreen Toben, at the recentBear Stearns Media Conference in Palm Beach, Fla.

Growth in gross subscriber additions seems to suggest that Verizon Wireless has attracted new users from other carriers with the offer, even though it was quickly matched or exceeded by the company’s biggest rivals. Toben didn’t mention whether or not there was an effect on net subscriber count, after cancellations.

Verizon Wireless is America’s second-largest cell phone carrier, after AT&T, and is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Britain’s Vodafone Group.

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