Sprint Corp.’s PCS Group added about 830,000 subscribers during the fourth quarter, positioning
itself to top the industry in customers additions for the second consecutive quarter.
Though most carriers are slated
to release subscriber numbers within the coming weeks, analysts believe the Christmas season resulted in some
phenomenal numbers. Analysts are waiting to see subscriber numbers from AT&T Wireless Services Inc., which
posted strong third-quarter numbers after launching its Digital One Rate plan. Regional operator AirTouch
Communications Inc. said it added 547,000 new domestic cellular and personal communications services customers
during the fourth quarter.
Sources close to Sprint PCS indicate the nationwide carrier added about 500,000
customers in December alone. Sprint PCS added 1.7 million customers in 1998, and has more than 2.58 million
customers nationwide.
Sprint said nationwide retail distribution channels, the timing of new products and services,
strong holiday season sales and the opening of 48 new markets contributed to its strong fourth-quarter
growth.
“It was a bang-up quarter for Sprint,” said Bob Egan, research director with Gartner Group in
Stamford, Conn. “The high capex spending that they are using to build out the network coverage and capacity is
beginning to pay off. They also have a variety of handsets so that consumers are getting more choices.”
On
that note, Sprint announced it will proceed with a $500 million public offering of Sprint PCS common stock. The
company postponed the offering in late October, citing poor market conditions. It will use proceeds to finance and
buildout new and existing markets.
Sprint said it will release fourth-quarter and full-year earnings for the PCS
Group on Tuesday. Preliminary fourth-quarter results indicate revenue to range between $430 million and $450
million. Revenues for the year should be between $1.22 billion and $1.24 billion. Sprint expects EBITDA loss to be
between $590 million to $610 million for the quarter and between $1.59 billion and $1.61 billion for the
year.
Customer churn rates, said Sprint, remain above historic industry average, but within the range of rates
reported by other new wireless entrants. Capital expenditures were nearly $700 million for the quarter and nearly $3
billion for the year.
