American wireless operators T-Mobile US and Verizon have gained subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2014, after unleashing a tariff war.
Does the latest statistics from T-Mobile US indicate that one of its rivals — AT&T or Sprint — lost wireless customers significantly?
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T-Mobile US added 2.1 million net customers in the fourth quarter. This was the seventh quarter in a row that the company has generated more than 1 million net customer additions. In 2014, T-Mobile added 8.3 million net customers, an 89 percent increase from the prior year.
Verizon Communications earlier said wireless customer growth remained strong throughout fourth-quarter 2014. Verizon did not share specific data on subscriber base. It will share more details on 22 January during the fourth quarter and full year financial result.
Verizon reported strong customer demand for 4G smartphones and tablets, as the company drove retail postpaid gross additions that were higher both sequentially and year over year. It said phone upgrades approached 10 percent, higher than the 9.5 percent previously expected, as upgrade volumes trended higher as December progressed.
Better margins for T-Mobile and not for Verizon
Incidentally, T-Mobile is confident about better margins as well. Verizon is concerned about margins in Q4.
John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, said: “T-Mobile delivered over 2.1 million customers in Q4, while managing the balance between growth and profitability.”
Verizon expects first-quarter 2015 wireless margins to return to historical levels. But Verizon will report that the fourth-quarter impacts of strong customer volumes, together with its promotional offers, put short-term pressure on its wireless segment EBITDA and EBITDA service margin.
In fourth-quarter 2014, Verizon maintained a disciplined market approach focused on high-quality customers. The company also focused on accelerating upgrades of high-quality customers to 4G smartphones on its More Everything shared data plans.
These are preliminary indications. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile will share their final revenue and wireless statistics in coming weeks.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
