Sprint Benefits From Less Expensive Subscriptions

As it enjoyed the upside of less expensive subscriptions before a merger with bigger U.S. competitor T-Mobile US, Sprint Corp. reported a less-than-expected loss of monthly bill subscribers in Q3. Analysts had forecasted a net subscriber loss of 160,000, per research firm FactSet, while the company reported a loss of 115,000 postpaid phone subscribers over the quarter concluding on Dec. 31, Reuters reported.

Sprint is encountering a multi-state suit against its potential merger with T-Mobile US Inc. Sprint and T-Mobile have said that the combination would not cause more expensive rates for users and would enable it to better contend with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.

In the quarter that concluded Dec. 31, net loss attributable to the firm dropped to $120 million from $141 million a year prior. Total net operating revenue dropped to $8.08 billion and came out short of the forecasts of analysts of $8.22 billion.

Sprint had an adjusted loss of 8 cents per share for the quarter, which came out shore of analyst predictions of 5 cents per share.

In December, news surfaced that some state attorneys were joining forces to fight a proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile that is backed by the United States Justice Department. T-Mobile and Sprint are the third and fourth cell phone providers in the nation.

At the time, it was noted that 13 states and the District of Columbia had come together to try and strike down the combination. The state attorneys’ rationale was that the merger would result in higher rates for customers.

The Justice Department and FCC, however, contended that striking down the deal would mean customers in less populated areas would be delayed in getting the next generation of wireless, 5G internet. They also said the deal with Dish would provide substantial relief.