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Jul. 28, 2009

Verizon Wireless appears to be immune to Apple’s iPhone. Although the wireless carrier has fallen behind AT&T in terms of net new additions, its data revenue, churn rate and service ARPU are still better than AT&T.

Verizon’s second-quarter service ARPU came in at $51.10, compared to AT&T’s $50.70. As for its churn rate, Verizon’s postpaid rate was just 1.01 percent, compared to AT&T’s 1.09 percent. Close, but still better.

Even with the iPhone set aside, Verizon still managed to remain competitive with its network and handset portfolio.

Due in part to the high cost of the BlackBerry data plans, Verizon's data ARPU came in at $14.96, which beat the $14.57 reported by AT&T.

Analyst Julien Blin of JBB Research noted several factors that led to Verizon’s ARPU. Blin said that BlackBerry users spend an average of about $100 a month, and 40 percent of new devices sold on Verizon’s network were PDAs or smartphones.

Strong growth in netbooks and Wi-Fi sales were also part of the equation.

"Adopting the iPhone in 2010 could become an instant home run for Verizon. I think that customers from Sprint, T-Mobile and even AT&T might move to Verizon once Verizon gets the iPhone. Now, other wireless carriers might also carry the iPhone. That said, I think that Verizon offers the best package overall," Blin said.

The analyst said he likes where Verizon stands and envisions an iPhone in the wireless carrier's future.

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Source: Verizon Wireless.