Q2 2022 KPIs are in
All wireless service providers except for USCellular and Dish Network (Boost Mobile) have announced their Q2 2022 operational results in the last ten days, and the results have been unsurprising, except Verizon’s lackluster performance. Verizon saw its postpaid phone base grow by only 12K (compared to 275K in the year-ago quarter) thanks entirely to its enterprise segment which offset the losses of 215K consumer lines. Verizon also saw its prepaid business shrink by 229K lines during the same quarter. By contrast, AT&T and T-Mobile saw their postpaid phone bases grow by 813K and 723K lines respectively in Q2 2022. AT&T and T-Mobile also grew their prepaid business with the addition of 231K and 146K new connections during this period. Incidentally, T-Mobile also announced that it attracted 260K new customers for its 5G Home Internet service, which now has reached a base of 1.5 million homes. Verizon, on the other hand, now has a home internet base of 760K of subscribers, 260K of which were added this past quarter. In related news, cable MVNOs Comcast (Xfinity Mobile) and Charter (Spectrum Mobile), continued their impressive trajectory adding 317K and 344K mobile subscriber respectively in Q2 2022.
The NPD Take:
- Rivals’ aggressive device subsidies and improving network image (especially T-Mobile) continue to lure Verizon customers. Verizon is also losing a substantial number of accounts to cable MVNOs, though it is important to keep in mind that each Verizon customer leaving the carrier for Spectrum or Xfinity Mobile continues to have a small contribution to Verizon’s bottom-line as these cable MVNOs pay the carrier wholesale fees to use its network.
- T-Mobile’s success in reaching a fixed wireless access base of 1.5 million customers is not surprising given its aggressive pricing (as low as $30/month) and distribution, which now includes the carrier’s Metro by T-Mobile retailers. It is noteworthy to mention that most of this growth is happening at the expense of the cable companies. NPD’s latest Connected Intelligence Mobility survey will feature new questions analyzing cable customers’ awareness and purchase intent rates of 5G Home Internet solutions; the results will be shared with our clients later in September.
Verizon sweetens the prepaid plans
Verizon last week announced that customers on the prepaid unlimited plans will have six months of free access to the Disney+ streaming service. Notably, Verizon has long been offering the same 6-month deal to postpaid subscribers on entry-level service plans, while those on the upper tier plans like 5G Get More and 5G Get More have been enjoying free access to Disney+ free of charge during their tenure with the carrier. However, this new offer is not extended to prepaid customers on Tracfone brands such as StraightTalk or Total Wireless.
The NPD Take:
- Verizon’s extension of the Disney+ offer to prepaid customers is exciting but providing free access to content streaming services is not a new practice in the prepaid space (e.g., Metro’s Amazon Prime subscription offer and Cricket’s HBO Max (with ads) deal for high-end unlimited plan customers). The exclusion of Tracfone brand customers, which make up over 80% of Verizon’s prepaid installed base will limit the appeal and potential of the offer.