Verizon reported continued strong customer growth in the mobile market in Q3, with a net 927,000 new retail postpaid customers added. That is over 40 percent more net adds than in the year-earlier period, CEO Lowell McAdam said at an investor conference. The percentage of customers choosing the Verizon Edge early-upgrade plan so far in Q3 is similar to the rate in Q1 2014, which was approximately 12 percent of total phone activations. Verizon said it expects strong customer growth and low Edge adoption rate this quarter to date to put some pressure on the wireless segment EBITDA service margin compared to the 50.3 percent reported in Q2.
At its wireline activities, FiOS continues to drive consumer revenue growth, while enterprise and wholesale growth remain under pressure. Although Verizon made progress in increasing the wireline segment EBITDA margin in the first half of 2014, the company expects some quarter-to-quarter fluctuations due to seasonality and the timing of non-recurring billings and costs. Verizon reiterated that the company remains on track to achieve full-year expansion of the wireline segment EBITDA margin.
Verizon will report Q3 results on 21 October.
