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Sprint showed subscriber growth in Q1 2012, still reports net loss of $863 million

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Sprint has posted its eighth consecutive quarter of subscriber growth in Q1 of the year, netting 263,000 postpaid customers. Despite the additions the nation’s third largest carrier reported $255 million in operating loss and a net loss of $863 million (wireless service revenue was up 7 percent year-over-year at $7.2 billion). Sales of the iPhone were responsible in large part for customer additions, with 44 percent of the 1.5 million units sold going to new subscribers. The shift to 4G LTE and all that it entails was a factor in the high operating expenses reported.

Speaking of 4G LTE, Sprint is still on track to launch its first six markets by mid-year and has plans to reach 12 cities by the end of 2012. With the drama that has sometimes been associated with the move, it’s a milestone that can come soon enough for the carrier.

[via Sprint]

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27 Comments

  1. I hope they can pull this together.  I like Sprint.  

    1.  Me too. They have been great to me. Going on six years of service now, and no issues whatsoever.

  2. VZW has tempted me, but their plans and X Company employee discounts still are higher than Sprints. Add to this the EVO One X vs the Incredible One S and Sprint has won me for another 2 yrs.

  3. Sprint is improving and they’ll continue to get better with the Network Vision rollout. Customer service really hurt them in the past and now is among tops.  The reasons they have a loss are Nextel shutdown, the cost of iPhone and Network Vision rollout but long term they have the right plan going.  

    Network Vision will bring LTE this year (better penetration than WiMAX since it’s at 1900Mhz instead of 2500) and then improve even more when going to 800Mhz in another year.  Basically if you get a voice signal, you’ll get LTE. Not the case with WiMAX.

    Sprint will be much more comparable to ATT/VZW in 3 more years and if they can keep unlimited data, they’ll be a true contender.

    1. If they still have unlimited data and I can get a signal where I work I will go back to them.  I left them ‘cuz I didn’t get any signal at work.

  4. BTW, according to this Sprint already has 600 LTE sites up and running in 6 markets. Wherever an LTE site goes up, it will improve 3G data too as they are adding more backhaul.

    http://news.yahoo.com/sprint-posts-863-million-loss-q1-adds-263-113542144.html

  5. They plan on LTE being active in 12,000 sites, not 12 cities.

    1. 12 metros this summer, cover 130m population by end of this year (about top 30 metros) and pretty much entire Sprint network by end of 2013.

      1. I am referring to what was said in the first quarter results… 
        http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120425005703/en/Sprint-Nextel-Reports-Quarter-2012-Results

        1. Site is a “cell tower”, not a city.

          1. Duh? And your point would be what? 12,000 sites doesn’t equal 12 cities. 

  6. Btw phandroid you really need to get these spammers under control. At the very least delete their stupid comments.

    1. Or add an option for other commenters to flag messages as spam. This is getting a little ridiculous!

      1. There’s a little flag you can click on next “in reply to” …

  7. if a company succeeds it is because of the CEO, if it fails it is because of market conditions

  8. I would go to Sprint if they had better coverage in rural areas. 

    1. It should improve when they go to 800Mhz in about 1.5-2 years.

    2.  Sprint customers roam for free on Verizon’s network, so actually there coverage is as good if not better than Verizon’s…

      1. I don’t think that applies for data because my data coverage is terrible compared to VZW

        1. It must be 1x roaming for Voice and text because my boyfriend looses 3G when I have 3G coverage. He is on Sprint and I am on Verizon. They may have some 3G roaming agreements, but not nationwide.

      2. This is only true in a very very few market(s)

        Not nationwide by any means.  This is just something Sprint sales people say to get people to sign up for them, since they don’t really have much else going for them.

      3. Yeah but there is a 320mb data roaming limit on Verizon’s network and if u constantly use it Sprint will cut u off.

  9. i really wanted Sprint to work out for me, but in Charleston, WV on the Epic 4G Touch, it was the worst experience i ever had. before i even rooted it, it would tell me i was roaming and i hadn’t left the city. after, i had the signal dropping problem a lot of people had. i told them to cancel everything before my 30 days and i’m on ATT now. their prices are bad and i’m switching to Straight Talk or Red Pocket soon, but at least i can buy the newest unbranded phones and just move my sim.

  10. Constant dropped calls, indifferent customer service, and the slowest data speeds of the big 3? Unlimited or not, it’s not worth what they charge. We’ll see how many they can retain. Not many I bet.

    1. Slowest data speeds of the big four.

  11. My Sprint contract is almost up this summer. I was seeing wether to renew and get the one x or sg3, but coverage here is ridiculous. We never got “4g” service and im definitely not expecting to have them install lte here in El Paso for at least 2 years. Ill probably leave for verizon or att depending on the phone releases this summer. Perhaps when that contract is over and if sprint has better speeds in the area Ill go back.

  12. Sprint, Tmobile and Black Berry should just merge.   All 3 are flailing and will go under within a couple years.

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