Prepaid

MetroPCS and Leap Wireless' growth in the fourth quarter could be summed up with one word: meh.

Both prepaid wireless providers offered up an early look at their customer growth and the results were mixed. Leap Wireless, which sells service under its Cricket Wireless subsidiary, released its figures yesterday and narrowly beat expectations. MetroPCS reported its customer growth today, which fell slightly below analysts' expectations.

The results were neither tragically bad or particularly impressive. But given that the fourth quarter is the largest sales period for the prepaid players, that itself makes the results somewhat disappointing. That MetroPCS and Leap … Read more

It's shaping up to be a merry holiday for prepaid wireless service providers MetroPCS and Leap Wireless.

MetroPCS has been successful at drawing in customers with its lower priced family plan promotion, which costs $100 for four lines. Leap, which sells its service under the Cricket Wireless brand, has benefited from its Muve Music service, as well as expanded distribution. Both are expected to exceed expectations, according to Michael Nelson, an analyst at Mizuho Securities.

"Sales appear to be gaining momentum," Nelson said in a research note.

The success of MetroPCS and Leap underscore the shake-up going … Read more

Cash-strapped wireless subscribers can now get unlimited everything smartphone service for less than $20 a month. So what's the catch? And is it really worth it?

That's the question I help answer for one reader in this edition of Ask Maggie. Indeed, Republic Wireless's $19 a month plan requires customers use Wi-Fi wherever they can. While this may be a good fit for some wireless customers, it's not for others.

The same is true of other prepaid services. While the advertisements may make some prepaid services seem cheaper than services from bigger nationwide rivals, consumers need … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Sprint Nextel is working to take its flagship smartphones and eventually sell them to its prepaid and wholesale partners, according to product chief Fared Adib.

Sprint could eventually take a high-end handset such as the Samsung Electronics Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch and re-brand and sell it to different providers, Adib said during the company's developer conference here today.

The approach would mark a radical departure from conventional thinking in the wireless industry. The national carriers typically guard their flagship handsets with exclusive agreements, and consider them the "crown jewels" that allow them … Read more

MetroPCS saw a slight decrease in its third-quarter profit as its customer growth slowed significantly.

The prepaid wireless provider reported today a profit of $69 million, or 19 cents, compared with a year-earlier profit of $77 million, or 22 cents a share. Revenue rose 18 percent to $1.21 billion.

The company was expected to earn 23 cents a share on revenue of $1.22 billion, according to an average forecast taken by Thomson Reuters.

MetroPCS was hit by a triple whammy this quarter. On the high end, national carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile USA made more … Read more

Leap Wireless saw its third-quarter loss narrow as the tide continues to turn for the better on customer growth.

The prepaid wireless provider, which sells its service under the brand Cricket Wireless, posted a quarterly loss of $68.8 million, or 90 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $536.3 million, or $7.06 a share, when it recorded a charge of $477.3 million for the write-off of assets. Revenue, meanwhile, rose nearly 20 percent to $763.3 million.

Analysts, on average, forecast a loss of 79 cents a share and revenue of $764 million, according … Read more

Sprint Nextel posted a narrower third-quarter loss as customer growth improved ahead of the company getting the Apple iPhone.

The country's third-largest wireless provider reported a third-quarter loss of $301 million, or 10 cents a share, narrower than its year-earlier loss of $911 million, or 30 cents a share. Revenue rose 2 percent to $8.33 billion.

Wall Street analysts, on average, had expected the company to lose 22 cents a share on revenue of $8.38 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

More importantly, Sprint kept pace on its path to winning back its most valuable customers. The company … Read more

T-Mobile USA today launched several pay-per-day plans for customers who think a monthly plan is too much of a commitment.

There is a $1-a-day plan, which comes with unlimited text messages and a charge of 10 cents a minute for phone calls, a $2 plan for unlimited talk, text messages, and data at 2G speeds, and a $3 plan for unlimited talk, text, and data, though only the first 200 megabytes of data will be sent at a higher speed.

Daily plans are useful to customers who only use their phones sparingly, allowing them to avoid charges on days when … Read more

Wal-Mart and T-Mobile USA said today that they would be jointly offering a new phone plan that caters to data- and text-hungry customers.

The retail giant and wireless carrier will sell a no-contract $30 plan that includes unlimited Internet access, text messages, and 100 minutes for phone calls. After customers exceed their allotment of voice minutes, the charge is 10 cents a minute.

The new plan goes after a specific demographic of customers who no longer view their cell phone primarily as a tool for voice communications. Instead, they are more apt to uses text messages, instant messaging services, or … Read more