AT&T's bundled 5G, fiber plans boost quarterly subscriptions; shares rise
(Reuters) -AT&T's fourth-quarter wireless subscriber growth surpassed expectations on Monday, fueled by strong demand for its discounted premium plans combining 5G mobile with high-speed fiber data, sending its shares up more than 6% in early trading. The U.S. telecom giant added 482,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the holiday quarter, outpacing analysts' estimated gains of 424,550, according to Visible Alpha. As the pool of potential new wireless customers shrinks in the United States, AT&T's strategy of bundling high-speed fiber internet with wireless phone services has helped drive growth for the company.