AT&T exceeds wireless subscriber estimates on demand for premium plans

The U.S. telecom firm said on Wednesday it had added 403,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the July-September period, above Visible Alpha estimates of 393,430 additions. Premium plans have helped AT&T stay competitive in the saturating U.S. telecom market where rivals Verizon and T-Mobile are bundling their offerings with streaming services such as Netflix and Max to attract customers. Demand has also been growing for AT&T's plans that allow customers to combine its high-speed fiber data with its wireless phone service for a discount.