Cingular Wireless, now solely owned by AT&T, reported stellar fourth-quarter and year-end results today.

Cingular, which has been renamed AT&T, said it recorded a net income of $782 million for the fourth quarter, a year-over-year increase of more than 283 percent.

But what was more impressive was that it added 2.4 million customers during the period, setting a record for the company. In the year-ago period, it added 1.8 million subscribers, and 1.4 million in the third quarter. The company ended the year with 61 million wireless users, maintaining its No. 1 position in the U.S.

Also worth noting is the company's average revenue per user (ARPU), a commonly used metric in the industry.

During the quarter, the company increased ARPU to $49.29, or slightly more than the year-ago quarter. ARPU growth is attributable to the amount of revenue the company is collecting for data services, such as games, ringtones, mobile instant messaging, mobile email, photo messaging and media bundles.

Data ARPU increased to $7.19, a 53 percent jump from the year-ago period and a 14 percent increase over third quarter.