B. ARPU and Churn Rates
Average revenue per user (ARPU) provides the company a
granular view (at a user or unit basis) and allows it to track
revenue sources and growth. Churn rate refers to the
proportion of contractual customers or subscribers (typically
called postpaid) who leave a supplier during a given time
period. Both are commonly used success indicators in the
wireless telecommunications industry. AT&T reported
wireless fourth quarter (4Q) 2009 postpaid ARPU of $61.
13
,
a 2.6% increase over 4Q 2008. Postpaid data ARPU was
$19.
16
, up 17.5% during the same period [10], much of which
can be attributed to iPhone subscribers. AT&T reported
iPhone subscribers ARPU was approximately 60% higher
than the average subscriber, with significantly lower churn
rates than the overall AT&T subscriber base [11]. Postpaid
churn dropped to 1.19%, with AT&T recording six
consecutive quarterly periods of reduced churn [10], a trend
which is most likely attributable to the iPhone. From an
ARPU and churn perspective, iPhone can be considered
successful.