WEST POINT, Ga.-Powertel Inc. said it added 67,000 new personal communications services
customers during the fourth quarter, ending 1998 with more than 295,000 customers.
New PCS customers on post-
paid service plans totaled approximately 28,000, while new prepaid customers totaled about 39,000 for the quarter, said
Powertel. For the year, Powertel added about 177,000 customers, with about 135,000 subscribing to post-paid service
and 42,000 subscribing to prepaid service plans.
Average revenue per unit for post-paid customers was $50.96 in
the fourth quarter, compared with $54.14 in the third quarter. For the year, post-paid ARPU totaled $54.27 per
subscriber. Prepaid customer ARPU since the launch of the service in late September totaled $40.05.
Total PCS
revenues and sales were $48.2 million for the fourth quarter compared with $39.7 million in the third quarter, said the
company. For the year, total revenue and sales were $155.8 million, compared with $56 million in 1997.
Operating
loss for the company’s PCS segment was $63 million for the fourth quarter, compared with $43.3 million for the third
quarter. Operating loss for the PCS segment in 1998 totaled $180.4 million, compared with a $141.9 million loss in
1997.
The monthly churn rate declined in the fourth quarter from 4.5 percent in the third quarter to 4.1 percent. For
the year, monthly churn was 4.1 percent.
“During 1998, Powertel significantly expanded its PCS presence in
the southeastern United States,” said Powertel President and Chief Executive Officer Allen Smith.
“Powertel launched seven new markets, which increased our network coverage to nearly 16 million people
throughout our 12-state footprint.”
In January, Powertel signed an agreement to sell its cellular operations,
which serve portions of Alabama and Georgia, to Public Service Cellular Inc. for $89 million. Powertel added about
1,000 cellular customers in the fourth quarter, closing 1998 with about 29,000 customers.
