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Sprint today announced that it sold 5.6 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 20.5 million smartphones for the year. It is unclear how many of those smartphones were iPhones as the carrier is following Verizon Wireless and AT&T in not breaking down its smartphone sales or activations by platform.
Sprint added 682,000 customers in the last three months of the calendar year, bringing its total customer base to 53.9 million subscribers. Total retail postpaid churn was 2.15%, down slightly from the 2.18% measured in the year ago quarter. The company reported a loss of $1 billion, which is less than the $1.3 billion it lost in Q4 2012.
Sprint ended the year with 53.9 million Sprint platform subscribers – its highest level ever – after adding 58,000 postpaid subscribers, 322,000 prepaid subscribers and 302,000 wholesale and affiliate subscribers in the fourth quarter. Sprint sold 5.6 million smartphones in the fourth quarter and 20.5 million smartphones for the year with smartphone sales mix reaching 95 percent for postpaid and 66 percent for prepaid in the quarter.
Earlier this year, Sprint competitor Verizon announced smartphone activations of 8.8 million along with 1.7 million new subscribers in Q4 2013, while AT&T activated 1.2M postpaid smartphones and gained 809,000 new subscribers in the quarter.
Sprint becomes the first US carrier to lose money this quarter as it continues to struggle. Recent rumors suggest Sprint parent company Softbank may be interested in acquiring rival T-Mobile, but regulators have already expressed opposition to the deal.
Top Rated Comments
T-Mobile is shaking up this industry and having lots of success. Sprint is an example of how NOT to run a wireless carrier.
None of the top four mobile companies are reporting iPhone numbers now.
It was pretty clear that it was an Apple requirement then, so perhaps it's an Apple requirement now that they stop.
(Reporting activations was misleading anyway, since it included activations of used devices, which was usually about 10% of iPhone numbers. But since most people confused activations with sales, it always worked to Apple's PR advantage.)
In short, it feels like another Tim Cook change, similar to changing forecasts to be more reasonable.
DOJ has already expressed opposition to the deal. The only way it happens would most likely require both carriers to divest of some spectrum (which neither could really afford to do).
I'd also think Sprint shareholders would HAVE to remember the cluster-f that buying Nextel created. That was a match made in hell. I hated that Sprint bought Nextel because as a then-Nextel customer, things went to ****. Quickly. That would happen with T-Mobile too, I'm certain.
As usual, it all stinks of collusion and there should've been a congressional hearing years ago, but they get away with it every time. Just one of the perks of being a subsidiary of the man, I guess. :eek:
Wrong,
Please read the story, Sprint in line with Verizon/ATT and TMO are not reporting iPhone numbers. Sprint posted a small, but gain of subs last qtr.