ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—Rural Cellular Corp. unveiled preliminary first-quarter figures reflecting a large increase in roaming revenue, but the company said it lost about 7,800 subscribers including wholesaler customers during the first three months of the year.
RCC’s roaming revenue topped in at nearly $31 million, which the company said was due to a 92-percent increase in outcollect roaming minutes. Combined service and roaming revenue got an 11-percent boost to $126.8 million compared to the same period last year. Universal Service Fund payments to the company totaled $11.3 million last quarter.
“The quarter’s roaming revenue reflects the continuing success of our new technology networks,” said Richard Ekstrand, RCC’s president and chief executive officer. “As we enter the spring and summer months of 2006, we anticipate significant progress in our new technology handset transition and continued improvement in retention.”
RCC has recently upgraded its legacy TDMA network with GSM/GPRS and CDMA technology.
Including roaming, RCC’s average revenue per user for the first quarter was $69, up from $58 in 2005’s first quarter. Excluding roaming, ARPU was $51, up from $47 in the first quarter of 2005. RCC’s postpaid churn rate was at 2.6 percent, and it ended the quarter with about 698,000 customers.
RCC provides wireless service in 15 states in the Midwest, Northeast, South and Northwest. The carrier plans to release its full operating and financial results for the first quarter on May 8.
