Verizon (NYSE:VZ) shares dipped by 1% just after midday Wednesday as Chief Executive Hans Vestberg told an investor conference that the company is expecting consumer wireless subscribers to drop in the third quarter.
Speaking at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia, Vestberg said that decline would be offset somewhat by business subscriber gains for the quarter.
Verizon (VZ) has increased prices this year, with some plans being hiked by $6 and $12 a month, and those actions raised customer churn in the third quarter. But Vestberg maintains the price increases were the "right decision."
After some long-term dominance of the premium end of the market, Verizon (VZ) is a relatively new entrant to the lower end, mainly through an acquisition of TracFone Wireless - a move that has led Verizon to become the largest prepaid provider in the country.
"We're getting good traction," Vestberg said of the value market, promising new products launching for that segment. "I would say right now, we can name any segment in the U.S. market in wireless regardless of the economic situation."
Asked whether Verizon's fixed wireless distribution is grabbing cable broadband switchers, due to a focus on suburbs that tend to be cable markets, Vestberg laughed "Good conclusion."
Cable remains something of a good partner, though, Vestberg added.
"When the cable guys are adding wireless customers, that's on our network as well," Vestberg said. "They come to the Verizon network, but they are not branded, right? And so we feel good about that relationship. It's an important enterprise relationship with the cable guys."