AT&T Wireless vs. Verizon Wireless: Losing Ground

Between 2001 and 2003, AT&T Wireless lost significant ground to Verizon Wireless (now the industry leader). That’s what its CRM upgrade was intended to fix. It didn’t.

In 2001, AT&T Wireless was the market leader; by third quarter of 2003, it had fallen to third place, and Verizon had climbed from second to first.

In 2001, AT&T Wireless had the fourth highest rate of subscriber growth in the industry; by third quarter of 2003, it had fallen to sixth and last, while Verizon had climbed from fifth place to third.

In 2001, AT&T Wireless spent more money to attract new subscribers than all but two of its competitors, and in 2003, it was still spending more than Verizon, which continued to spend less than any competitor.

In 2001, both AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless had the same rate of customer churn. By 2003, Verizon’s churn rate had dropped significantly, while AT&T Wireless’s had not budged.

Source: UBS