BellSouth says it is leading the industry in terms of telecom services revenue growth and expects total revenue for the year to grow 8 to 9 percent, anticipating nearly $30 billion in total revenue by year-end. In 2002, BellSouth expects its revenue to increase by 5 to 7 percent and earnings per share (EPS) to increase by 7 to 9 percent.
That growth is expected to be driven by a number of initiatives at the company.
In two years, BellSouth has amassed more than 463,000 DSL subscribers and expects to reach its goal of 600,000 subscribers by year-end. With its rapid acceleration and highly-targeted expansion plans, BellSouth says it leads other DSL- providers in subscriber growth with 617 percent in 2000 and 179 percent growth in 2001. The company says it is adding subscribers in its markets an average of 10 percent faster than competing cable providers and has taken a significant lead in the key Southeastern markets of Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans and Charlotte.
BellSouth also leads the industry in DSL deployment, expecting to end the year with more than 70 percent of households in its region being DSL-eligible and increasing that number to 76 percent by year-end 2002. BellSouth's DSL subscriber growth is matched by anticipated year-end DSL revenues of $225 million. For 2002, BellSouth expects $600 million in DSL revenues, upped from a previously projected $500 million, by nearly doubling its subscriber base to 1.1 million DSL subscribers.
Data services have also gained an increasing share in BellSouth's revenues. The company expects to end 2001 with approximately $4.5 billion in data revenues highlighted by three consecutive quarters of billion dollar revenues. BellSouth projects to end 2002 with 22 to 25 percent growth in network data revenues. Over the past decade, BellSouth has invested in 4 million miles of fiber, 749 broadband (ATM/Frame Relay) switches and 20,000 SONET rings in service in its network.
In the U.S., through Cingular Wireless, BellSouth has transitioned from a regional wireless operator to the second largest national player. Internationally, BellSouth has focused on its Latin American properties by continuing to build out its footprint and developing operational synergies. BellSouth now has the largest footprint in Latin America with an expansive presence in 11 countries, holding 8 nationwide licenses. BellSouth's continued strategy for wireless leadership in Latin America focuses on growing its core mobile voice business profitably, utilizing its wireless-centric infrastructure and driving revenues from mobile data, Internet and other complementary services. BellSouth has expanded margins in Latin America from 21 percent (4Q00) to 31 percent (3Q01) despite economic challenges in the region.
Long distance is also expected to play a significant role at the company in 2002 By year-end, BellSouth expects a decision from the Federal Communications Commission on its Georgia and Louisiana applications which were unanimously approved by their respective state commissions. BellSouth's application in Mississippi also received unanimous state approval and is expected to be submitted to the FCC soon, followed by several others states in BellSouth's region.
