Light Reading Mobile breaks down the key metrics for US wireless operators during the most recently reported quarter
The first quarter was dramatic for wireless operators in the U.S. with Long Term Evolution (LTE) services starting, Verizon Wireless beginning to sell the iPhone and AT&T announcing plans to acquire T-Mobile US Inc. . (See Verizon Finally Gets the iPhone 4 , Verizon Speeds Up LTE Expansion and AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile for $39B.)
The U.S. wireless race has already winnowed to AT&T and Verizon, which went head-to-head on metrics. Verizon added substantially more subscribers in the quarter thanks to the iPhone, but AT&T's bottom line wasn't hurt because of it. Even Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) held its own thanks to its prepaid business, but the carrier has been telling everyone who'll listen that it's going to get harder for them if AT&T absorbs T-Mobile. (See AT&T Takes the Oath on T-Mobile Merger).
All of the operators, including the smaller players, talked up mobile Internet growth, driven by the adoption of smartphones, particularly Android-based phones, in most cases .
Here's a snapshot of how the top eight operators fared in the first quarter:
Table 1: Tier 1 Wireless Operators' Q1 Earnings
Verizon Wireless | AT&T | Sprint | T-Mobile | |
Total Revenue | $27.0 billion | $31.2�billion | $8.3 billion | $5.16 billion |
Total Subscribers | 104 million | 97.5 million | 51 million | 33.6 million |
Postpaid Subscriber Additions | 906,000 | 165,000 | -114,000 | -471,000 |
Postpaid ARPU | $53.52 | $63.39 | $56 | $52 |
Total Postpaid Churn | 1.01 percent | 1.18 percent | 1.81 percent | 2.4 percent |
Source: VZW, AT&T, Sprint & Deutsche Telekom |
Table 2: Tier 2 Operators' Q1 Earnings
Clearwire | US Cellular | MetroPCS | Leap Wireless | |
Total Revenue | $242 million | $985.1 million | $1.2 billion | $779.9 million |
Total Subscribers | 6.15 million | 6.1 million | 8.9 million | 5.8 million |
Postpaid Subscriber Additions | 1.8 million | Lost 22,000 | 725,000 (prepaid) | 331,000 (prepaid) |
Postpaid ARPU | $46.32 (retail) | $51.21 | $40.42 (prepaid) | $39.35 (prepaid) |
Total Postpaid Churn | 3.3 percent (retail) | 1.37 percent | 3.1 percent (prepaid) | 3.1 percent (prepaid) |
Source: Clearwire, US Cellular, MetroPCS & Leap Wireless |
For more of LR Mobile's first-quarter analysis:
U.S. Cellular Reports Q1
Deutsche Telekom Shrinks in Q1
T-Mobile Suffers in Competitive US Wireless Biz
Leap Hopes Music Will Muve It Nationwide
Leap Makes Gains But Reports Q1 Loss
Clearwire Posts Q1 Loss
Clearwire Says It Won't Sell Spectrum
MetroPCS Seeks 'LTE for All' Spectrum
Sprint Perks Up in Competitive Q1
AT&T Looks From iPhone to LTE to Increase Subs
AT&T's iPhone Growth Continues
— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile
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