KIRLAND, Wash.—Nextel Partners Inc. reported a strong first quarter—which will very likely be its last quarter of independent reporting since its acquisition by Sprint Nextel Corp. is expected to close in the second quarter.
Nextel Partners added nearly 103,000 net new customers in the first quarter, and the company’s total revenues soared by 24 percent from the same period last year to just shy of $500 million. Partners reported average revenue per user of $66, which was down about $1 from the first quarter of 2005.
Nextel Partners also noted that it added 84 cell sites to its network in the first quarter, along with opening five new company-owned stores for a total of 140 stores around the country.
Nextel Partners ended the first quarter with 2.12 million customers. Sprint Nextel Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee noted that once Sprint Nextel acquires Partners, the national carrier will have about 51 million customers.
