Verizon Communications said it added 160,000 digital-subscriber-line
subscribers in the first quarter of 2003, while EarthLink Inc. said it gained
112,000 broadband subscribers in the same period, as both companies released
quarterly financial results.
Verizon began 2003 with 1.8 million DSL subscribers, which would mean the
company now has 1.96 million. But the company said it was changing the
methodology it uses to report operational results in DSL and long distance.
DSL numbers will be reported on the basis of lines billed, rather than lines
provisioned, creating a lower total, which Verizon listed as 1.83 million, or a
mere jump of 30,000 in the quarter. While the reporting change means lower DSL
numbers, it will mean higher long-distance stats, Verizon said.
But Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg remained upbeat on broadband, saying, "We see
a next phase of industry growth fueled by the combination of Verizon's
broadband-network services with attractive new product offerings, such as those
being developed through our partnership with Microsoft [Corp.'s] MSN
service."
Overall, the company posted revenue of $16.3 million in the quarter, a 0.9
percent decrease from first-quarter 2002. Earnings were $3.9 billion, which
included a one-time $2.1 billion gain associated with new accounting procedures.
Without the adjustment, earnings would have been $1.8 billion.
The 112,000 broadband additions at EarthLink give the company 891,000
broadband subscribers, a 67 percent increase over the year-earlier period.
EarthLink counts about 4 million narrowband subscribers, but it said subscriber
growth declined 5 percent in that category as dial-up subscribers migrated to
broadband.
Overall, the company tallied $353.7 million in revenue, a 6 percent increase
over a year ago, with broadband revenue of $81.4 million accounting for 23
percent of the company's total revenue.
