Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:15 am
Sprint, the nation's third-largest wireless provider, said its loss widened in the second quarter but fewer subscribers defected as it started selling Palm's popular Pre smartphone in early June.
The Overland Park, Kan.-based company reported a loss of $384 million in the quarter -- larger than its loss of $344 million a year ago.
The company shed 257,000 subscribers during the quarter, a small increase from the 182,000 lost in the first quarter.
The losses included 991,000 customers who sign annual contracts, which was an improvement from the 1.25 million lost in the previous quarter -- helped by an increase in phone upgrades from its exclusive Pre launch -- but worse than the 780,000 shed a year ago.
Rivals AT&T added 1.37 million subscribers while Verizon Wireless picked up 1.1 million customers during the second quarter.
Sprint's Boost Mobile prepaid subsidiary gained strong traction with its $50 a month unlimited prepaid calling plan -- picking up 938,000 prepaid customers in the quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said he was gladdened to see slower losses of subscribers and the continued gain of prepaid customers but acknowledged he was "not satisfied" with customer losses.
Earlier this week, Sprint reconfirmed its dedication to the prepaid market when it said it will buy Virgin Mobile for $483 million.
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