Telcos Butter Up the Churn

The wireless industry is reaping another bountiful harvest. But digging into the subscriber basket can yield a surprising amount of chaff.

Service providers like Verizon Wireless, Cingular and Sprint (FON Quote) have roared to better-than-expected results in 2005, as new customers have stampeded into prepaid packages, cheaper rollover minutes and multiline family plans.

But lumped in with all the pretty numbers, skeptics say, are some practices -- ranging from tallying dead accounts to double-counting users -- that can muddy the telcos' true subscriber growth and user loyalty performance. And while Wall Street loves a technology growth story, those who have predicted a slowdown wonder how long the industry can keep its foot on the gas. ...