AT&T finally realized that the iPhone is the best thing that ever happened to them. Though their 3G network is patchy and also is slow in many places, many new customers sign up for the sake or owning the iPhone 3G. The company in a bit to make people know that they are grateful to the maker of the iPhone has started advertising the iPhone on their homepage.

In terms of revenue the iPhone has boosted the overall returns of AT&T. To woo more customers, AT&T has spent some $450 million on network upgrade, which couldn’t have happened if it were not for the urgency of supporting the iPhone 3G.

The $30 per month data plan and the two year contract has made AT&T prosper. AT&T has activated more than 4 million iPhones till date. When the iPhone 3G was launched, the average iPhone activation per quarter was more than 2 million. About 40 percent of total activations per quarter are new AT&T customers who switch carrier all for the iPhone. The iPhone is the only reason why AT&T is performing better than Verizon and Sprint. The network upgrade has made AT&T poorer in terms of returns however, the whole upgrade is sure to make a better carrier. Thanks to the iPhone!

Moving forward with the plan to generate more revenue we are hearing rumors that there is a proposal for launching 3G macbooks. We’ll know soon how this idea might work. However, it is true that the iPhone for now have saved AT&T at the right time.