America’s biggest telecom provider, AT&T Inc., posted a 62% increase in fourth quarter profits yesterday, after adding a record 2.7 million wireless subscribers in the final three months of 2007.

Quarterly income reached $3.14 billion, or $0.51 per share, up from $1.94 billion in the same period last year. Revenue almost doubled to $30.3 billion, but fell slightly short of the $30.5 billion predicted by analysts.

AT&T lured hundreds of thousands of extra wireless customers by offering hot new handsets such as the Apple iPhone and Samsung Sync. An economic slowdown, however, put a damper on some other sources of revenue, most notably AT&T’s fixed-line telephone business, which was forced to cut off a higher-than-normal number of non-paying landline customers.

They’re clearly feeling some economic impact, said William Power, a Dallas-based analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. Power predicts that AT&T shares will outperform the broader market, however, as other industries are harder hit.

AT&T shares were down $0.94, or 2.6% yesterday, to close at $35.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.