AT&T's New Activations Fall Off a Cliff

The fallout has begun: Now that Verizon is selling the iPhone, AT&T's new contract-based subscribers have dropped off dramatically. New subscribers on contract-based plans bring in the most revenue each month, and there were only 62,000 in the first quarter—a record low, the AP notes. One year prior, the same period saw 512,000 new subscribers; several previous quarters saw more than a million.

However, AT&T says the percentage of iPhone subscribers who canceled service was the same as last year, so Verizon hasn't been siphoning off current AT&T customers. And current customers are still buying iPhones: AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones in that quarter, an increase from last year's figure of 2.7 million. The carrier also activated 322,000 tablet subscriptions, making the iPad a possible siphon. (More iPhone stories.)