ANCHORAGE, Alaska-Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. reported a record 5,128 net wireless subscriber additions during the fourth quarter of last year, ending 2004 with 100,600 total wireless subscribers. The strong customer growth was a 70-percent improvement compared with the 3,024 subscribers the company added during the fourth quarter of 2003.
Boosting ACS’ customer growth was a 55-percent increase in gross subscriber additions compared with the fourth quarter of 2003, which offset an increase in customer churn from 1.4 percent in 2003 to 1.7 percent last year. Average revenue per user also increased from $39.59 during the fourth quarter of 2003 to $45.42 last year.
Total wireless revenues increased 32 percent year-over-year from $11.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2003 to $15.4 million last year. Wireless revenues also increased from 15.1 percent of ACS’ total revenues during the fourth quarter of 2003 to 20.5 percent of total revenues last year.
Full-year revenues increased 22 percent from $46.5 million in 2003 to $56.7 million last year. Wireless revenues for the year increased from 14.4 percent of total revenues in 2003 to 18.7 percent last year.
“Wireless continues to be a key driver of growth for ACS,” observed David Wilson, senior vice president and chief financial officer of ACS. “We are rapidly growing the absolute number of wireless subscribers, and we recorded our fifth consecutive quarter of record growth in subscribers.”
