Telecom network operator T-Mobile today said it made an investment of $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2015 – focusing on LTE networks coverage.
Capital expenditure (Capex) of T-Mobile dipped from $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2015 and flat compared to $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2014.
T-Mobile has already achieved its 2015 goal of covering 300 million people with its 4G LTE network months ahead of schedule and plans to continue the network coverage expansion through the end of the year.
T-Mobile is focusing on the deployment of Wideband LTE to add LTE network capacity and Extended Range LTE to enhance coverage and in-building performance.
Wideband LTE of T-Mobile US will be available in more than 260 markets by the year-end from 245 markets at present. Extended Range LTE will cover more than 350 markets by the year-end from 204 markets currently.
Thanks to its investment program, T-Mobile added 2.3 million customers in third quarter.
The company reported 61.2 million customers at the end of the third quarter, growing its base by 2.3 million total customers.
The company also reported 242,000 mobile broadband net customer additions in the quarter.
T-Mobile said postpaid phone churn improved to 1.46 percent, down 18 basis points. The improvement in churn reflects ongoing improvements in network, customer service, and the overall value of T-Mobile’s offerings in the marketplace.
Service revenues grew 11 percent, while total revenues rose 6.8 percent.
The year-over-year change in total revenues was impacted by lower equipment revenues, which declined by 9.3 percent primarily due to the mix shift to JUMP! On Demand.
Postpaid phone ARPU of T-Mobile fell 3.7 percent to $47.99, postpaid billings ABPU rose 2.2 percent to $62.96.
T-Mobile posted a net income of $138 million against a loss of $94 million in the third quarter of 2014 and down from net income of $361 million in the second quarter of 2015.
T-Mobile will be investing $4.4 to $4.7 billion towards Capex this year.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
