Verizon Wireless rakes in $1B from data fees

Verizon Wireless beat all analyst expectations by reporting Q2 data revenues of more than $1 billion, the first time the carrier has passed that milestone. The data figure represents almost 13 percent of the company's service revenues, a 7-percent jump from the same period last year. The wireless company's overall revenue also increased 18 percent to $9.26 billion. CEO Ivan Seidenberg reiterated parent company Vodafone's desire to hold onto its share of the carrier.

Its wireless business has already reported 1.8 million net adds that were direct retail subscriber additions--that is, those customers the company directly serves and manages, not from MVNOs or resellers. And look for the company to report record low churn again. Cingular already reported financial results beat analysts' expectations, adding a surprisingly high 1.5 million net subscriber additions as well as the company's highest-ever net income of $540 million. The operator also pushed its churn rate down to 1.7 percent overall--another best-ever performance.

For more on Verizon Wireless's Q2 earnings:
- see this The Wall Street Journal article (sub. req.)