Due to increasing demand for wireless service, Verizon Communications Inc. said it expects its wireless division to add more than 4.5 million customers this year, ahead of the approximately 4 million customers the company had forecast earlier this year. The company noted it is seeing higher-than-expected customer acquisitions during the second half of this year linked to a higher level of customer additions.
“Verizon Wireless has significantly outperformed expectations,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive officer of Verizon.
Seidenberg added that increased adoption of its domestic wireless service, as well as its interest in Italian wireless provider Omnitel, contributed to offsetting expected declines in the company’s domestic wireline business.
Verizon Wireless has already added more than 2.1 million customers during the first half of this year, and analysts expect the carrier to increase market share at the expense of its competitors with the impending implementation of wireless local number portability scheduled for Nov. 24.
Verizon also reported it will allow wireline customers to port their telephone numbers to Verizon Wireless once WLNP is implemented and will not delay the porting process due to a pending balance or termination fee. The company added that the porting process would be non-geographic, allowing customers to port their wireline numbers even if Verizon Wireless does not have phone numbers located in the same landline-rating center.
Verizon said the agreement with its wireless subsidiary was made under the terms of a multi-state standalone agreement instead of through negotiation of interconnection agreement amendments, which Verizon noted it does not think are necessary between wireline and wireless providers.
