AT&T welcomed some 566,000 subscribers under a contract and sold 440,000 tablets to customers.
Amidst the aggressive touting it gets from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile, AT&T boasted a profit of $6.9 billion ($1.31 per share) in its fourth quarter report. The profit doesn't include one-time items like gains from benefit plans.
Its profits increased by 1.8 percent to $33.2 billion, while its wireless service revenue increased by 4.8 percent to $18.4 billion.
It also reported a 1.2 million increase in the number of its smartphones subscribers under a contract, which includes both new clients and upgrades. However, it is unusual AT&T to include number of existing customers who upgraded, CNET reports.
Nonetheless, it still cannot keep up with Verizon Wireless, which added about 824,000 phones and 625 tablets in the fourth quarter. T-Mobile, on the other hand, got an additional 1.6 million subscribers in the same period, surpassing all of its rivals.
"There's no doubt the competition will remain strong," AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said on a conference call with analysts. "There's no doubt we'll continue to modify the value proposition."
Next, the company's early upgrade program is also expected to sell more than 1 million, representing 15 percent of all postpaid smartphone upgrades and add-ons.
The second largest telecommunications company is currently facing a solid competition from T-Mobile, which openly teased the company with numerous offerings last year.
For one, T-Mobile offered customers a $200 credit for subscribers to move to its services. The company added another $250 worth of credit when customers trade in smartphones.
After that, the company furthered the stake by offering to pay for the customer's early-termination fees (ETF) when they opt to terminate their existing contracts with other services. It also offered a $300 worth of credit for smartphones, which have to be turned in if used along with the ETF credit.
