NEW YORK (AP) – AT&T Inc. on Wednesday posted lower net income for the latest quarter due to cheaper cellphone plans it introduced as a response to aggressive pricing from smaller competitor T-Mobile US.
AT&T said half of its wireless subscribers have already moved to “Mobile Share Value” plans, introduced in February. It’s also adding subscribers to its Next plans, which carry lower monthly fees because customers pay full price for their phones.
On a conference call with analysts, executives defended the new Next and Mobile Share Value plans, saying they boosted the number of new customers to the highest level in five years.
“We are very pleased with what we’re seeing from our wireless repositioning, and we’re confident in our strategy,” said John Stephens, AT&T’s chief financial officer.
Investors took the news mostly in stride. AT&T shares fell 51 cents to $35.37 in extended trading after the release of the results.