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AT&T is veering away from subsidized phones, and it's paying off
The wireless industry in the United States is in the midst of some rather significant changes. Ever since T-Mobile implemented its Jump program early last year, the carrier has turned subscriber loss into massive gains. The company's success is rubbing off, too. AT&T's Next program is very similar to Jump, which lets customers pay off their phones in monthly installments and become eligible for upgrades earlier, and is just one example of a major transformation taking place throughout the industry. According to AT&T's earnings report, the company saw more than 1 million Next sales, which accounted for 15 percent of all smartphones sold in the quarter. AT&T CFO John Stephens elaborated in today's investor call, saying that Next accounted for 20 percent of total sales in December alone. This doesn't sound like much right now, but the big picture shows a different story. Next is actually growing at an incredibly fast pace, and it's unlikely that AT&T will change course anytime soon.
