The rich mobile carriers got a little richer in the third quarter, as the nation’s top two operators increased their leads over the rest of the field. Verizon Wireless added a million subscribers and posted revenue of $15.8 billion, up 24.4 percent year-over-year, while AT&T reported 2 million net adds — thanks largely to the iPhone — and $13.65 in revenue, up 8 percent over the year-ago period. Meanwhile, the increasingly heated prepaid space took its toll on Leap Wireless and MetroPCS, as both service providers saw customer growth slide in the third quarter.
| Leap Wireless: Reported Nov. 5 |
| Wireless Service Revenue: $541.3 million |
| Wireless Operating Income: N/A |
| Wireless Data Revenue: N/A |
| Net Prepaid Subscriber Adds: 102,000 |
| Total Subscribers: 4.5 million |
| Prepaid Churn: 5.4 percent |
| Prepaid APRU: $39.60 |
|
| Metro PCS: Reported Nov. 5 |
| Wireless Revenue: $896 million |
| Wireless Operating Income: $158 million |
| Wireless Data Revenue: N/A |
| Net Prepaid Subscriber Adds: 66,157 |
| Total Subscribers: 6.3 million |
| Prepaid Churn: 5.8 percent |
| Prepaid APRU: $41.08 |
|
| T-Mobile: Reported Nov. 5 |
| Wireless Revenue: $5.38 billion |
| Wireless Net Income: $417 million |
| Wireless Data Revenue: N/A |
| Net Prepaid Subscriber Adds: 63,000 |
| Total Subscribers: 33.4 million |
| Blended Churn: 3.4 percent |
| Postpaid APRU: $52 |
|
| Sprint: Reported Oct. 29 |
| Wireless Revenue: $6.9 billion |
| Wireless Operating Loss: $448 million |
| Wireless Data Revenue: N/A |
| Net Prepaid Subscriber Adds: 666,000 |
| Net Postpaid Subscriber Loss: 801,000 |
| Total Subscribers: 48.3 million |
| Churn: Postpaid 2.17 percent, prepaid 6.65 percent |
| APRU: Postpaid $56, prepaid $35 |
|
| Verizon: Reported Oct. 26 |
| Wireless Revenue: $15.8 billion |
| Wireless Operating Income: $4.47 billion |
| Wireless Data Revenue: $4.1 billion |
| Net Prepaid and Postpaid Subscriber Adds: 1 million |
| Total Subscribers: 89 million |
| Churn: Postpaid 1.13 percent |
| APRU: Postpaid $51.04 |
|
| AT&T: Reported Oct. 22 |
| Wireless Revenue: $13.65 billion |
| Wireless Operating Income: $3.4 billion |
| Wireless Data Revenue: $3.6 billion |
| Net Prepaid Subscriber Adds: 641,000 |
| Net Postpaid Subscriber Adds: 1.4 million |
| Total Subscribers: 81.6 million |
| Blended Churn: 1.43 percent |
| APRU: Postpaid $61.23 |
|
AT&T pulled in $13,650,000,000.00 in less than 90 *days*
vs.
“We can’t afford to build out our network, so we are implementing caps, limiting our *Unlimited* plan to 2 GB a month…” – AT&T executive