iPhone 3G Causes Growth For AT&T Despite Bad Economy

AT&T announced today that despite the poor state the economy is in, the iPhone and iPhone 3G has continued to drive growth in company by drawing in new high-profit subscribers to their 2 year contracts. The company says they have activated .9 million new iPhones during the quarter, less than the previous 2.4mil for Q3, but still played a significant role.

Fortune took a look at how the iPhone 3G has helped the company:

1. AT&T has activated 4.3 million iPhone 3Gs since its launch, 1.9 million in Q4 alone -- more than double its iPhone activations one year earlier.
2. The average revenue from Phone users is 60% higher than the typical AT&T customer -- thanks to that $30 per month data fee. Their heavy use of Web services helped drive AT&T wireless data use up 51.2% year to year, which as reader Jon in Brentwood, Calif., points out is not necessarily a good thing.
3. About 40% of the iPhone activations this quarter were new AT&T customers, either buying their first cellphone or switching from another carrier.
4. The churn rate -- the percentage of customers who drop AT&T's service -- among iPhone owners is significantly lower than the rest of the network, sharply reducing marketing costs.

[via MacRumors]