AT&T big on prepaid customers, Verizon not so much

quite the fourth quarter, signing up a record number of customers. That’s 2.7 million, which brought their total over the 70 million threshold. This puts AT&T firmly ahead of Verizon in the subscriber race (and allows AT&T to continue bragging about being that nation’s No. 1 wireless provider). Today, though, a new figure has come out. It appears that Verizon, despite having roughly three million fewer customers, brings in a lot more money than AT&T? And the difference is in the prepaid customers. According to MarketWatch, over half of the new AT&T subscribers were GoPhone users. These customers tend to spend less monthly than postpaid customers. While Verizon’s fourth quarter results are nothing beyond speculation now, they have had 90 percent of their subscribers postpaid, which means they’re generating more overall revenue. I kind of questioned the fact that AT&T has added 1.5 million prepaid customers in the fourth quarter, something that was implied in their subscriber total. But it appears this number is accurate. It could signal a market trend, considering the country’s overall economic condition. While carriers are trying to get people to sign up for more expensive services, including Internet plans, consumers are tending to opt for the cheaper, less intrusive prepaid plans. Hey, if the carrier is making less money off you, well, it probably means you’re spending less money. And that’s a good thing. Verizon should be announcing their fourth quarter results this week. [MarketWatch]]]>