T-Mobile US Inc. added 2.1 million net customers in its second
quarter, heating up the subscriber battle between the country's No.
3 and No. 4 wireless carriers.
T-Mobile has courted new subscribers with aggressive pricing, a
move that has weighed on its profit margins. That has allowed it to
add customers in its fight for subscribers with rival Sprint Corp.
and the two largest U.S. carriers, Verizon Communications Inc. and
AT&T Inc.
Overall, T-Mobile brought its total customers up to 58.9 million
for the quarter ended June 30. Net customer additions were up 41%
from the prior-year period and 14% from the first quarter.
Sprint finished its latest quarter, which ended March 31, with
57.1 million subscribers.
T-Mobile also added 1 million branded postpaid customers—the
most lucrative type of wireless subscribers. Of the postpaid
additions, 760,000 were phone customers, up 31% from the year
before.
T-Mobile is a majority owned unit of Germany's Deutsche Telekom
AG and has delivered a recent streak of strong results,
outperforming larger rivals in an industry with little new
subscriber growth.
In June, T-Mobile entered discussions for a possible $57 billion
merger with Dish Network Corp.
The four nationwide carriers are competing in a saturated
industry where nearly everyone carries a smartphone such as the
iPhone or Samsung's Galaxy. T-Mobile has been especially successful
in adding phone subscribers, which tend to be more lucrative than
accounts set up by tablet owners.
Shares, inactive premarket, have gained 43% this year.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@dowjones.com
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