T-Mobile USA Q4: adds 951,000 customers, cuts churn

T-Mobile USA Inc. enjoyed a rise in net new customers as it reduced churn during the fourth quarter of 2007.
The nation’s No. 4 carrier reported 951,000 net customer additions during the period, up more than 5% from the fourth quarter of 2006. The carrier noted that 77% of new customers signed up for a postpaid plan, which was up from the 65% of contract customers during the third quarter of 2007, but well below the 87% posted during the fourth quarter of 2006.
Despite the increased reliance on prepaid customer growth, T-Mobile USA noted customer churn dropped slightly from 2.9% during the fourth quarter of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007 to 2.8% during the final three months of last year.
For the year, the carrier said it added 3.6 million new customers compared with 3.4 million net adds for 2006, ending 2007 with 28.7 million customers on its network. Customers under contract accounted for 83% of T-Mobile USA’s customer base at the end of last year, compared with 85% at the end of 2006.
T-Mobile USA plans to release full Q4 financial and 2007 results on Feb. 28.
The news comes on the heels of impressive quarterly reports for Verizon Wireless, which added 2 million net customers during the quarter, and AT&T Mobility, which posted an U.S. industry record 2.7 million net adds.
Those gains contrast starkly with the performance of Sprint Nextel Corp., which lost 683,000 postpaid subscribers and 202,000 prepaid users during the quarter.