OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. added nearly 90,000 postpaid customers during the second quarter, bringing the wireless operator’s customer base to just more than 1 million wireless subscribers. The carrier’s results include its 50-percent ownership in American Cellular Corp. through its joint venture with AT&T Wireless Services Inc.
Customer churn for the quarter increased slightly from 1.7 percent during the second quarter of 2000 to 1.8 percent this year, but was down from the 1.9 percent reported during the first quarter of 2001. Dobson also reported 40,500 analog customers migrated to digital calling plans during the second quarter, bringing the digital portion of its customer base to 614,800 subscribers, or 61 percent of its customer base.
Dobson also filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission covering up to $1 billion of debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, debt warrants, equity warrants, units and trust preferred securities. The registration statement, made in conjunction with Dobson Financial Trust, also registered an aggregate of 18.9 million shares of common stock for possible sale by company shareholders.
Proceeds from a possible sale would be used for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Federal Communications Commission licenses and related assets, working capital, capital expenditures and growth of the company’s business.
