AT&T has forecast that by the end of Q3 2013 it will reach a total of 10 million U-verse subscribers. Sales have continued to rise as it "aggressively" invests in its $14 billion Project VIP expansion. When it announces earnings after the market closes on Oct. 23, the telco expects to report that consumer wireline revenue growth to be line with Q2 2013.

With Project VIP, the service provider has set a goal to expand its U-verse coverage to over one-third, or about 8.5 million, additional customer locations, enabling it to potentially serve a total of 33 million customer locations by the end of 2015. Part of this expansion will feature an IP DSLAM-based service, including broadband data and VoIP, to 2 million locations in the company's wireline service area by the end of 2013. U-verse has been a consistent source of growth in AT&T's wireline unit, which has been affected by ongoing legacy voice and broadband service declines. During the second quarter, the service provider added 641,000 U-verse broadband and 233,000 U-verse TV customers to reach a total of 9.1 million and 5 million subscribers, respectively.

One of the near-term key initiatives that AT&T has taken with U-verse is to increase broadband speeds. In August, it extended its 45/6 Mbps U-verse Power Internet service option to an additional 40 markets across 15 states.

It is being no less aggressive on the business services side. With Project VIP, the telco plans to reach 1 million business customer locations with a focus on serving the 50 percent of multi-tenant business buildings in its wireline serving area. By the end of this year, it said it will pass 250,000 business locations by the end of the year with fiber.

Like U-verse, advanced business services such as Ethernet and IP VPNs have been a big driver in AT&T's wireline revenue portfolio. Amidst a challenging economy where businesses are delaying their purchases, business revenues were $8.9 billion, down 2.2 percent year-over-year but up slightly from Q1 2013.