T-Mobile adds 1 million new subscribers in 2009, income and revenue decline

T-Mobile held its position as the #4 carrier in the U.S. by adding one million new subscribers to its coffers in 2009 and ending 2009 with a total of 33.8 million customers. Catherine Zeta Jones’ favorite network gained a total of 371,000 new subscribers in Q4 2009, a number that was achieved by the addition of 488,000 pre-paid subscribers and the loss of 117,000 net contract subscribers. Despite the yearly and quarterly growth in its subscriber base, yearly revenue declined to $21.5 billion, a 1.6% year over year drop and quarterly revenue dropped to $5.41 billion from $5.72 billion in Q4 2008. T-Mobile’s net income also took a hit, dropping from $483 million at the end of 2008 to $306 million in 2009. Though overall revenue and income declined, T-Mobile’s mobile data business was lucrative as total data revenue reached $598 million in Q4 2009 and $2.2 billion for the full year, a 35% and 37% year over year increase. Additionally, the Magenta network’s infrastructure was also on the rise; its entire 3G network has been upgraded to 7.2 Mbps HSPA, select markets are being upgraded to 21Mbps HSPA+, and its 3G coverage now reaches 205 million people nationwide.

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