The telephone landline business is hardly a growth industry, as an average of 5-7 percent of customers disconnect their home phone service every quarter, but you wouldn’t know that from the dividends being paid to stockholders.

From AT&T, Bell Canada, Frontier to Qwest — the companies that speak in terms of keeping their customer defection rates down are paying dividends that often exceed earnings.

Among the worst of all — Frontier Communications, whose outsized dividend is expected to reach 75 cents a share.  That, despite the fact analysts predict the phone company will earn only 40 cents a share or so this year.

Where do these phone companies expect to make their money?  Their broadband and wireless divisions.  AT&T and Bell Canada are able to cover landline losses with enhanced profits from their IPTV services like U-verse and Fibe.  Frontier and Qwest expect to survive on providing cheap-to-deploy DSL service in rural areas avoided by cable operators.

Other stories of interest:

1. Breaking News: CenturyLink to Buy Qwest In All Stock Deal to Impact Customers in 40 States
2. Analysis: Breaking Down the CenturyTel-Qwest Merger
3. AT&T Increases Shareholder Dividend And Raises Rates In February For U-verse Service
4. Should You Drop Your Landline? The Pros, Cons, and Alternatives
5. Goldman Sachs Downgrades Frontier Communications to Neutral — Eroding Revenues Cited