Telecom Lead America: AT&T will lower its capital expenditures for 2014 and 2015 to around $20 billion annually from $22 billion.
However, AT&T will spend around $21 billion as Capex in 2013.
AT&T says there will be no reduction in the Project Velocity IP (VIP) broadband expansion.
The company is achieving savings through greater integration efficiencies in Project VIP, accelerating LTE build in 2013 and other ongoing initiatives.
As part of its Project VIP-related LTE deployment, the company currently covers nearly 200 million POPs with its LTE network and expects to reach nearly 90 percent of its planned 300 million POP LTE deployment by the end of 2013.
AT&T on Tuesday said its 4G network now covers more than 292 million POPs, including LTE and HSPA+, all with expanded backhaul to support fast data speeds.
“As we have refined our VIP planning, we are seeing greater integration efficiencies in our spending curves. Our LTE build is accelerating into this year’s spending. That along with additional savings in non-Project VIP spending gives us confidence to revise our expectations without changing our overall build targets. Post Project VIP, we expect capital spending to take a step down to more normal levels,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO.
Meanwhile, AT&T’s revenues decreased 1.5 percent to $31.4 billion in Q1 2013.
Wireless data revenues rose 21 percent versus. Total wireless revenues and wireless service revenues both up 3.4 percent,
AT&T added 1.2 million new smartphone subscribers. Smartphones account for 88 percent of postpaid phone sales.
Postpaid data ARPU increased 18 percent, while postpaid phone-only subscriber ARPU rose 2 percent in Q1.
Growth in wireline consumer revenue was 2 percent.
AT&T says its total U-verse revenues including business rose 31.5 percent year over year.
Its wireline broadband data ARPU increased more than 9 percent year over year.
First-quarter 2013 net income was $3.7 billion against $3.6 billion in the same period last year.
