Oct 22 (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 ( NFLX ) 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.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by

Devika Syamnath)