Verizon adds 'record-high' 2.1 million subscribers in Q4 2012, but still makes a loss

Verizon has just announced that the last quarter was its best yet -- in regard to subscriber numbers. Those 2.1 million new additions mean that Verizon can now lay claim to 98.2 million customers in total, while smartphones have now claimed an additional 5 percent of this base, up to 58 percent. Since its last report, Q4 consolidated revenues totaled $30 billion for the first time, although profits were hit by $135 million in damages from Hurricane Sandy as well as a one-time pension cost that meant the company took a charge of between $9 and 10 billion for the quarter. This made up a $1.93 billion loss for the carrier, which remained, unsurprisingly, upbeat. Verizon's FiOS internet and TV businesses added 144,000 and 134,000 customers, respectively. According to Verizon, its LTE network is now available to 273 million people and CEO Lowell McAdam is calling the last twelve months "a year of solid progress."