Verizon, which reported 1.6 percent drop in the first quarter revenue, said it will not slash its capital expenditure of $17.5 billion to $18.5 billion this year focusing on the expansion of 5G network.
AT&T’s Capex during the first quarter was $5 billion focusing on the fibre and 5G network expansion.
Both Verizon and AT&T did not reveal details about their growth from 5G business. AT&T and Verizon started launching 5G in April 2019.
Verizon Communications lost 68,000 mobile phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill in the first quarter, as people stayed indoors due to lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus in the United States.
AT&T added 163,000 new phone subscribers. AT&T was able to earn more customers despite shutting down more than 40 percent of its retail stores.
Verizon closed nearly 70 percent of its company-operated retail locations and reduced in-store service hours to promote social distancing. This resulted in a significant drop in customer activity and device volumes for the quarter, Verizon said.
Verizon’s operating revenues in first-quarter 2020 were $31.6 billion, down 1.6 percent from first-quarter 2019. This decline was primarily the result of growth in wireless service revenue in the Consumer and Business segments.
Verizon generated revenue of $21.8 billion (–1.7 percent) from consumer business and $7.7 billion (–0.5 percent) from enterprise business.