By Thomas Gryta and Friedrich Geiger T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) Thursday said its customer base grew strongly for the first time in more than four years, a significant step in the turnaround of the long-struggling wireless company.
For the second quarter, the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier added 688,000 branded postpaid customers, a significant swing from losing 557,000 in the year-ago period. Last year, it lost about 1.8 million postpaid customers, compared to Verizon Wireless adding more than 5 million.
The customer additions come on the back of offering Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in April. The company also has revamped its plans to offer lower prices and no service contracts.
T-Mobile merged into MetroPCS Communications Inc. in early May, becoming a public company in the U.S. after previously operating as a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE), which now owns a 74% stake in the newly merged company.
Overall, T-Mobile reported a net loss of $16 million, down from a $107 million profit a year earlier. Revenue jumped to $6.23 billion from $4.68 billion, helped by the acquisition of MetroPCS.
Service cancellations, or churn, dropped to 1.6% for postpaid customers from 2.1% in the year-ago, another sign that the company is doing a better job in the competitive wireless space.
Chief Executive John Legere has recently touted the company's success in lowering churn and has pushed the company's aggressive marketing efforts that criticize other major U.S. carriers.
T-Mobile has said its network overhaul is ahead of schedule, but it is still behind its larger rivals in rolling out 4G LTE service.
While T-Mobile has made changes to become more competitive, other carriers already have reacted to some of those shifts. Last month, the company unveiled a new program that allows customers to upgrade their phones as often as twice a year, only to be followed shortly thereafter by plans from AT&T and Verizon Wireless that have the same goal.
Write to Thomas Gryta at [email protected]
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For the second quarter, the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier added 688,000 branded postpaid customers, a significant swing from losing 557,000 in the year-ago period. Last year, it lost about 1.8 million postpaid customers, compared to Verizon Wireless adding more than 5 million.
The customer additions come on the back of offering Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in April. The company also has revamped its plans to offer lower prices and no service contracts.
T-Mobile merged into MetroPCS Communications Inc. in early May, becoming a public company in the U.S. after previously operating as a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE), which now owns a 74% stake in the newly merged company.
Overall, T-Mobile reported a net loss of $16 million, down from a $107 million profit a year earlier. Revenue jumped to $6.23 billion from $4.68 billion, helped by the acquisition of MetroPCS.
Service cancellations, or churn, dropped to 1.6% for postpaid customers from 2.1% in the year-ago, another sign that the company is doing a better job in the competitive wireless space.
Chief Executive John Legere has recently touted the company's success in lowering churn and has pushed the company's aggressive marketing efforts that criticize other major U.S. carriers.
T-Mobile has said its network overhaul is ahead of schedule, but it is still behind its larger rivals in rolling out 4G LTE service.
While T-Mobile has made changes to become more competitive, other carriers already have reacted to some of those shifts. Last month, the company unveiled a new program that allows customers to upgrade their phones as often as twice a year, only to be followed shortly thereafter by plans from AT&T and Verizon Wireless that have the same goal.
Write to Thomas Gryta at [email protected]
Order free Annual Report for Deutsche Telekom AG
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=DE0005557508 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028
Order free Annual Report for Apple, Inc.
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US0378331005 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028
Order free Annual Report for Deutsche Telekom AG
Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US2515661054 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028