WOTW gives its own spin on which carrier ran the table in terms of the latest quarterly results, with T-Mobile and Sprint the two stand outs
Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
Well, we recently had a rare occurrence in the mobile telecom space as all four nationwide operators reported their latest quarterly results within just days of each other. I know this doesn’t sound like something worth crowing about, but it did sort of make for an interesting week in which to compare how those operators fared against one another.
Now, taking a look at just the basic growth numbers, T-Mobile US ran away with the quarter, thanks to its continuing ability to garner just about all the lucrative postpaid phone growth across the industry. While a growing number of industry watchers are beginning to focus on the “next-generation” of growth for the mobile space in the form of the “internet of things” and nontraditional devices, it’s hard to reprimand T-Mobile US’ management for getting excited about its ability to snare those high-paying postpaid smartphone customers.
Oh yeah, T-Mobile US also outpaced all comers in terms of prepaid customer growth as well, showing there really might have been some value in that MetroPCS brand beyond just spectrum after all.
At the same time, props must be given to Sprint, which while failing to match the overall growth posted by its larger rivals, did manage to scratch out its own growth figures in the postpaid smartphone market. Some observers noted the carrier should have been capable of more considering it’s offering customers a 50% discount compared to what its rivals are offering. That’s a good point, since I think we all know how crazy people go for 50% off sales.
When it comes to Sprint, I think we know who the real winners are: investors. Sure, the overall market’s been on a bit of a run recently, but Sprint’s stock price has gone “wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tubemen” crazy.
Is Sprint possibly inflating some of its financial numbers at the expense of network spending? Well, that is definitely an argument being put forth by many, though Sprint executives argue that’s not the case.
Now, when it comes to the market’s two largest carriers in the form of Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, it may look like both operators struggled a bit under the pressure of their smaller rivals. Yes, AT&T Mobility lost postpaid smartphone connections during the quarter and Verizon Wireless managed to add just a handful, but these two do seem to understand the mobile telecom space is evolving into more than just a smartphone business.
Look, I am the first person to complain that there should be less focus on a company’s performance over a three-month period as opposed to taking a step back and seeing the big picture. But, in terms of the latest results from nationwide operators, I think what we saw in the latest quarter is sort of what these carriers are.
– T-Mobile US remains a marketing miracle.
– Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility remain carriers focused on what’s next.
– Sprint is the crazy cousin no one in the family can stop talking about, both good and bad, nor take their eyes off them because of fear for their own safety.
Thanks for checking out this week’s column. Here’s a quick extra to get you through the weekend:
While T-Mobile US may have come out on top amongst its carrier rivals in terms of its latest quarterly performance, T-Mobile US customers look to have been given the “un-carrier” shaft.
The carrier’s wildly hyped “Un-carrier 11” event has seen its consumer “thanking” change from some pretty cool things like free pizza, movies and desserts, to its more recent offerings of a discounted night at a hotel and chances to win any number of awesome sounding prizes that 99% of customers have 1% chance of winning. (Just like in Las Vegas, whenever I am told I have a “chance” to win something, I don’t. Ever.)
I know the value of these offers varies by person, but the hoopla in which T-Mobile US launched the program hinted to me that customers would be all set up to contract diabetes by the time they made the final payment on their smartphone installment plan.
So, come on T-Mobile US, stop trying to thank customers with false hope and bring back the goodies.
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