AT&T today reported stronger than expected profit for third quarter of 2009. AT&T’s revenue was down 1.6 percent to $30.9 billion, but the company earned $3.2 billion profit. AT&T’s profit remained high, even though their enterprise and landline revenue declined by 10.4 percent and 7 percent respectively. iPhone was one of the main contributors with 3.2 million new iPhone activations, which helped AT&T attract 2 million new customers. 4.3 million new smartphones were added to AT&T’s network in third quarter and 74 percent of those devices were iPhones.

iPhone has been the main factor in AT&T’s growth for past two years. But recent comments from AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega indicate that iPhone exclusive deal may be ending. In a question-and-answer session he said, “We have a legacy of having a great portfolio… that will continue after the iPhone is no longer exclusive to us. We think we will continue after the iPhone… to drive (results)…”

Many analysts have said that AT&T and Apple had a three years iPhone exclusive deal, which might end in 2010. If this deal end in 2010 we believe T-Mobile stands to gain a lot, as it is the only other GSM network in US. We don’t think Apple will develop CDMA phone for Verizon. It’s too much work for outdated/outgoing network technology.