MetroPCS Goes Nationwide, In Quest For Growth

Sources: UPDATE 2-MetroPCS goes nationwide in quest for growth | Reuters
MetroPCS goes national - The Online Guy - Tidbits - ReviewJournal.com


BANGALORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - MetroPCS Communications Inc (PCS.N) reported quarterly results that
edged past market estimates and the low-cost wireless carrier said it will take its services nationwide, sending its shares up 5 percent to a year-high.

The Metro USA nationwide service launched on Thursday will cover more than 90 percent of the U.S. population,
and is expected to fuel subscriber growth.

The Richardson, Texas-based company's wireless service currently serves the big cities,
including key markets New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia.

The expansion will likely be possible through roaming agreements with other carriers, analysts said,
with MetroPCS having to pay fees to the carriers when it rents their networks.

The launch will have a dual effect on MetroPCS, which competes Sprint-Nextel (S.N) unit Boost Mobile,
America Movil's (AMXL.MX)(AMX.N) Tracfone and Leap Wireless (LEAP.O), Mizuho Securities USA analyst Michael Nelson said.

It has the potential to further stimulate subscriber growth, but on the flip side,
it could increase the cost of service and possibly hurt margins, Nelson said.

MetroPCS Chief Financial Officer Braxton Carter, however, said on a conference call with analysts
that he does not see a significant margin impact from the launch.

On Tuesday, rival Leap Wireless posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and said
it expects its business transition to hurt fourth quarter results as well. [ID:nSGE6A10LM]

In the third quarter, the company's cost per user rose 7 percent to $18.47,
driven partly by a rise in handset subsidies to existing customers.

Due to increased competition in the prepaid space, wireless firms are having to offer more services
and subsidies to retain customers, pushing up costs as a result.

MetroPCS, with a market value of about $3.84 billion, also became the first U.S. carrier to roll out commercial
high-speed wireless Long Term Evolution (LTE) services, beating industry heavyweight Verizon Wireless.


For more information on Metro USA visit the MetroPCS site:
MetroPCS | Coverage
or http://www.metropcs.com/metrousa

 

Also, this does not mean that they will offer retail nationwide service, just free nationwide roaming,
the home areas where service is available for sale is still in the darker areas on their maps,
including Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, DC, etc.

I wonder what network(s) Metro will be using for nationwide roaming coverage,
my guess is mostly Sprint, but looking at their map I can't confirm anything.

Here's the discussion on HoFo:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1683195-quot-Nationwider-quot-coverage

 

So within 50 miles of my house, I'm assuming a MetroPCS phone will still use the US Cellular network in Asheville,
the Cricket Network in Charlotte, and the Sprint network everywhere else around here.
(not sure if they have chosen Sprint as preferred over Cricket in Charlotte, or Sprint over USCC in Asheville).

There are now roaming agreements with USCC, Cricket & Sprint for Metro,
I wonder who is preferred in markets where Cricket & Sprint or USCC & Sprint overlap.
My guess is that the Sprint agreement is more expensive for Metro, so they won't be the #1 preferred roamer.

I don't really see any Verizon coverage on their maps except TravelTalk.