Submitted by Chad Shmukler on
AT&T has reported their best and biggest quarter of iPhone activations to date, with 3.2 million iPhones activated in the third quarter of 2009. Shares of AT&T jumped following the initial release of the news, but have since declined, despite AT&T reporting better-than-expected per share earnings.
AT&T has wagered heavily on its relationship with Apple and the iPhone, and it has paid off. Many analysts site the iPhone as the single biggest reason for the telecom giant's continued strength in a down turned economy.
The wireless division of AT&T has continued to invest in infrastructure designed to support the iPhone (amongst other things), such as expanded bandwidth, support for faster 3G data transfer rates, and expanded coverage of its 3G network across the United States.
AT&T also reported adding 2 million new subscribers in Q3, of which almost 1.3 million were new iPhone customers.Apple has also has an excellent third quarter of 2009, with earnings comfortably beating expectations and greatly exceeding sales from Q3 of 2008. Apple cited the iPhone and Mac computer sales as the main reason behind its third quarter success.