Verizon’s Number of Wireless Connections (2016-2023)

This statistic highlights Verizon’s Number of Wireless Connections, split between Retail postpaid and Retail prepaid, reported on a quarterly basis from Q1 2016 onwards.

Verizon’s Number of Wireless Connections

The following table highlights Verizon’s Number of Wireless Connections for Q4 2020, Q3 2021 & Q4 2021:

(All figures are in millions, except percentages)

Verizon offers wireless services and equipment to both Consumer customers and Business customers. Its wireless retail connections are a total of retail postpaid and prepaid connections. Another approach to this statistic is by looking at the total connections in the previous period, added with new total connections in the current period, subtracted by disconnections in the previous period.

On a QoQ basis, the total number of wireless customers increased by 17%. Even on a YoY basis, there was an increase of 18% in customer growth.

Retail postpaid

This category includes the retail postpaid device connections as of the end of any period. Retail (non-wholesale) postpaid accounts primarily represent retail customers that are directly served and managed by Verizon and use their branded services. A single account may include monthly wireless services for multiple connected devices. These connections under an account may include those from phones, tablets, and other internet devices, including wearables and retail IoT devices.

This postpaid service is generally billed one month in advance for a monthly access charge in return for access to and usage of network services. Wireless retail postpaid connections are calculated by adding the retail postpaid connections in the previous period, added with new postpaid connections in the current period, subtracted by disconnections in the previous period.

On a QoQ basis, the wireless retail postpaid connections increased by 1.04 million, which is a 0.8% increase. On a YoY basis too, there was an increase of 1.8% in this category.

Retail Prepaid

This category includes the retail prepaid device connections as of the end of any period. Verizon’s prepaid service is offered only to Consumer customers and enables individuals to obtain wireless services without credit verification by paying for all services in advance. As of Q4 2021, Verizon had almost 24 million prepaid connections, which include approximately 20 million Consumer prepaid connections due to the Tracfone acquisition.

On a QoQ basis, there was an increase of 486% in the retail prepaid count which was due to the acquisition. Even on a YoY basis, there was an increase of 492% in the count.

About the Company

Verizon Communications Inc. is one of the world’s leading providers of communications, information, technology, and entertainment products and services, not only to consumers and businesses but even to government entities. It was created on June 30, 2000, by Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., which was one of the largest mergers in U.S. business history. Both the pre-acquisition companies, had themselves evolved and grown through decades of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Apart from the two reportable segments – Consumer and Business, Verizon even had a Media group, which it sold to an affiliate of Apollo Global Management Inc. in September 2021. Verizon even acquired:

• TracFone Wireless, Inc., a leading provider of prepaid and value mobile services in the U.S., in November 2021.
• Bluegrass, a rural wireless operator serving central Kentucky, in March 2021.
• BlueJeans, an enterprise-grade video conferencing and event platform, was acquired in May 2020.

These are some of the acquisitions in recent time, however, Verizon enters into strategic agreements to acquire various other businesses and investments from time to time.

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