Cricket-eating MetroPCS
This morning I saw a post that may be of interest.
As rumored at the time of their April IPO, MetroPCS is today offering to buy San Diego-based Leap Wireless, operator of the Cricket mobile phone service.
Both are “all you can eat” CDMA carriers, and both are adding subscribers at far above the national rate (45% and Leap — a 1998 Qualcomm spinoff — got their first, but its growth was long stalled due to poor timing of buying expensive equipment (with expensive vendor financing) near the peak of the bubble, eventually resulting in recapitalization through bankruptcy. MetroPCS came along in 2002 and has had an uninterrupted run of success over the past five years.
With its concentration on major metro markets, MetroPCS is slightly bigger overall, while Leap has more licenses in more cities. Both have roaming problems — lacking the coverage of a Verizon or even a T-Mobile. But the Leap has partially addressed that by clustering nearby markets […]
Read the entire post here.
Posted in Leap Wireless, MetroPCS, acquisitions, CDMA, mobile phones | No Comments