Verizon Wireless is activating iPhones faster than AT&T

In the company’s earnings report on Thursday, Verizon Wireless revealed that it activated 2.2 million iPhone 4 units in the first quarter of 2011. While AT&T reported earlier this week that it activated 3.6 million iPhones in the March quarter — 64% more than Verizon Wireless — the story doesn’t end there. AT&T’s loss of iPhone exclusivity might not have had the immediate dramatic impact some analysts predicted, but Verizon did manage to achieve a milestone right out of the gate: the nation’s top carrier activated iPhones at a much faster pace in the first quarter of 2011 than rival AT&T. While AT&T activated plenty more units, those activations were spread over the full 13 weeks of the March quarter. Verizon Wireless released the iPhone 4 just seven weeks ago on February 10th. As such, AT&T activated iPhones at a rate of 277,000 per week while Verizon Wireless was activating an average of roughly 314,000 units each week. The device was brand new for Verizon, of course, and pent up demand for the iPhone lead to the strongest pre-orders in the carrier’s history. AT&T also included the $49 iPhone 3GS activations in its total, however, so the numbers were bolstered on both sides.