It was another quarter of shocks and surprises for small budget wireless operators offering cheap mobile plans. AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless (VZ) chugged along during the spring quarter, but MetroPCS (PCS) and LEAP Wireless (LEAP) put up satisfyingly entertaining earnings spectacles. More →
Most Americans think of Huawei mainly as a network equipment manufacturer but the company does make smartphones as well. The Huawei Activa 4G will be the first Huawei handset available in the United States and is now on sale for $149.99 from MetroPCS. From a specs perspective, the Activa 4G isn’t anything to get all that excited about as it features an 800MHz processor, Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”), LTE connectivity and a 5-megapixel camera. The good news, though, is that users can buy it for $150 without signing a service agreement since MetroPCS is a prepaid wireless carrier. And while it may not be anywhere near as cool as a prepaid iPhone, it won’t set you back $549 like the iPhone 4 from Virgin Mobile will. Click the jump for the full release. More →
T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, has reportedly been discussing a potential merger with MetroPCS, according to Bloomberg. The talks come as T-Mobile continues to suffer from large subscriber defections, having lost 802,000 net customers in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. Deutsche Telekom is considering a stock-swap transaction that would give the German company control over the combined entity, which would be publicly listed, although an outright sale of T-Mobile is possible too. T-Mobile, the nation’s fourth largest carrier, has been looking for options since its failed merger with AT&T last November. MetroPCS has 9.5 million subscribers as of January 2012 and operates the fifth largest wireless network in the United States. More →
MetroPCS, U.S. Cellular and several other regional carriers have requested that the Federal Communications Commission initiate a “shot clock” for roaming agreements with larger wireless carriers. “Supporters stressed that imposing a shot clock on negotiations is necessary to provide the proper incentive for potential roaming partners to timely respond to inquiries,” a lawyer representing the regional carriers said in a letter to FCC Secretary Marlene H. Dortch. “Although data roaming negotiations may involve complex issues, the Joint Supporters emphasized that other situations that incorporate shot clocks, such as interconnection and siting negotiations, also have the potential to involve complex issues, and yet, a shot clock still has been successfully implemented in those negotiations.” In other words, the smaller wireless carriers want larger carriers to stop stalling when it comes to negotiating roaming deals in areas where regional carriers provide connectivity and to instead “engage in good faith negotiations.”
MetroPCS on Thursday announced its fourth quarter 2011 subscriber results. The carrier added 197,000 net subscribers, which missed analyst expectations that the carrier would add between 214,000 and 250,000 net customer additions, Reuters said. The company stated that it ended the year with more than 9.3 million total subscribers and said it added about 1.2 million subscribers during the 2011 calendar year. Churn took a turn for the worse since the fourth quarter of 2010, however; the company reported 3.7% churn in the fourth quarter, up from 3.5% during the same period in 2010. That figure is an improvement over the 4.5% churn the carrier reported during the third quarter of 2011, however. MetroPCS’s full press release follows after the break. More →
MetroPCS chief financial officer J. Braxton Carter recently said AT&T’s planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA is likely to fail. Carter’s comments were made during a UBS investor conference in New York City on Tuesday, during which he said the proposed merger is “almost kind of moot at this point given the intense opposition by the government.” MetroPCS was named as one of several U.S. wireless carriers originally interested in purchasing spectrum from AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T recently pulled its merger application from the FCC to focus on a lawsuit that was levied against the proposed merger by the United States Justice Department. Hours after AT&T withdrew its application, the FCC released a 109-page report suggesting AT&T was not going to win the FCC’s blessing anyway. AT&T’s lawsuit with the DOJ is expected to go to trial in February of next year. More →
MetroPCS is interested in purchasing spectrum and subscribers from AT&T and T-Mobile, Bloomberg said Friday. Leap Wireless and Dish Network were also approached and Leap may still be interested in making an offer. The deal with MetroPCS would likely amount to less than $4 billion. In August, The Wall Street Journal revealed AT&T had hired Bank of America’s Merill Lynch to advise it on selling as much as $8 billion in assets. Later that month, the United States government sued to block the planned merger when the U.S. Justice Department said the deal would “substantially lessen competition” in the U.S. wireless market. Read on for more. More →
The nation’s fifth largest wireless provider — MetroPCS — announced the addition of Tampa, Florida to its LTE portfolio. “As we have built-out our 4G LTE service across the nation, we continue to be dedicated to making our customers’ lives easier by providing them with feature-rich smartphones that let them do more on our network,” said the company’s president, CEO and chairman Roger D. Linquist. Tampa joins Atlanta, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento and San Francisco on the list of cities blanketed with MetroPCS’s LTE network. The full press release is after the break. More →
Following on the heels of AT&T and Verizon Wireless today, MetroPCS has announced that its customers can send free text messages and place free phone calls to landlines in Japan. MetroPCS says the offer extends throughout the next 30 days, and that it will “support free calls to mobile numbers in Japan for a timeframe to be determined.” It’s unclear if that means calls to mobile numbers in Japan will be free for more than, or less than, 30 days. More →
MetroPCS’ new marketing campaign is so awesomely ridiculous that we can’t help but love it. The emerging carrier has enlisted the help of acclaimed hip hop superstar Snoop Dogg to help introduce its new 4G smartphone, the Samsung Indulge. And in honor of MetroPCS’ glorious 4G LTE service, Snoop has “doubled down on his G’s.” That’s right, his name is now “Snoop Dogggg” — at least, that’s his new name for the purposes of this campaign. “It feels good to be working with MetroPCS and Samsung for the launch of the Galaxy Indulge,” said Snoop Dogggg in a statement. “I’m stepping it up to 4G’s so my phone can keep up with my demanding, always-connected lifestyle.” MetroPCS’ full press release can be found after the break along with a quick video shout out from Sir Snoop. More →
Remember that Samsung SCH-R910 we first told you about back in January? Well, it looks like the device has officially launched with a new name, the Samsung Galaxy Indulge. Metro has a placeholder page live on its website for the Indulge, and while there are no official pictures of what the device will look like, the handset’s SKU pretty much gives it away (SCHR910ZKAM). The site does confirm some of the specifications we provided to you last month: LTE and CDMA radios, Android 2.2, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, and a $399 price tag. Other specs listed include a 3.2 megapixel camera, 1,500mAh battery, and micro-SD card slot (with support for up to a 32GB card). Expect to see an official press release from MetroPCS go live in the very near future.
Thanks, S. Mango! More →
Blog Samsung Hub has an image of what its source claims is the Samsung Forte, a full-QWERTY Android set destined for pre-paid wireless carrier MetroPCS. The device purportedly packs a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5 megapixel camera, LTE radio, and will run the Android 2.2 operating system. The handset bears a very strong resemblance to the Samsung SCH- R910 — the same device we exclusively brought to you yesterday. The site’s source claims that Sammy is working on two different Android sets (we’re assuming one full-touchscreen and one not) so we have no way of telling if this is in-fact the same device. Not bad MetroPCS, not bad at all. More →
A new source has come forward with an image of what we believe to be MetroPCS’ first LTE-capable, Android smartphone — the Samsung SCH-R910. The device, which sports both a CDMA and LTE radio, will run the Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system alongside Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. We’re being told that the device will boast a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and 5 megapixel camera — just like the Galaxy S — and will have a user-accessible micro-SD card slot under the battery cover; at this point, memory and on-board storage specs are still unknown. Expect to see the R910 drop on MetroPCS in Q1 with a snazzy new nickname and a contract-free price-point between $329 to $399.
Thanks, S. Mango! More →
