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Verizon's flexible 5G plans lift wireless subscriber additions above estimates

(Reuters) -Verizon added more wireless subscribers than expected in the third quarter as the U.S. telecom giant's promotional offers and plans that bundle 5G with streaming services such as Netflix helped attract customers.

Growing adoption of the company's myPlan, a customizable offering that includes streaming perks such as Disney+, Hulu and Max for an extra cost, has helped Verizon stay resilient in the competitive U.S. telecom market.

The company added 239,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the September quarter, compared with expectations of 218,100 additions, according to FactSet. It posted 148,000 additions for the June quarter.

Postpaid phone churn, or the number of customers canceling the service monthly, was 0.89% in the third quarter, slightly higher than 0.85% in the second quarter.

With the U.S. wireless market nearing saturation, Verizon and its rivals have been looking to expand their high-speed internet business to tap increasing data use by customers. The company agreed to buy fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications last month in a $20 billion deal.

Verizon's fixed wireless service, which sends signals to a device in a home or business over airwaves, added 363,000 customers to hit a total of nearly 4.2 million, meeting its goal of 4 to 5 million subscribers more than a year ahead of schedule.

Excluding items, Verizon reported profit of $1.19 per share, compared with estimates of $1.18, according to data compiled by LSEG.

But its total revenue of $33.3 billion came in slightly below analysts' expectations of $33.43 billion, largely driven by declines in the company's wireless equipment revenue, as customers dialing back spending amid high interest rates led to fewer phone upgrades.

Shares of the company were down 1.3% in premarket trade.

Net income fell to $3.4 billion from $4.9 billion a year ago, hit by severance charges of $1.7 billion from a voluntary separation program and other headcount reduction initiatives.