Gizmodo
Alltel, the runt of the nationwide carriers, added 1 million customers this past quarter, totally now over 13 million subscribers. Even though the CDMA-based carrier says it operates the "largest" network, we don't actually know anyone who uses it. Still, its aggressive pricing strategies and frogdesign-based interfaces have drawn our attention. Maybe Sprint, down a million this quarter, could learn a thing or two from the upstart. (Press release after jump, if you care.)
Alltel adds one million gross wireless customers in the first quarterLITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Alltel achieved record customer growth in the first quarter, adding more than 1 million gross customers for the second consecutive quarter. Net customer additions also hit a new high with a 63 percent increase year-over-year.
"We are pleased with our results across the board, and I am extremely proud of our team for staying focused in our first full quarter under new ownership," said President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Ford. "We are off to a strong start for the year, with consolidated EBITDA up 18 percent year-over-year."
Alltel completed its merger with an affiliate of TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners in November 2007 and ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Among the highlights for the first quarter:
• Revenues were $2.3 billion, an 11 percent increase from the same period a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $125 million, due primarily to significant increases in interest costs and depreciation and amortization expense following the completion of the merger.
• Alltel added just over 1 million gross customers through internal growth, a 26 percent increase from a year ago. Post-pay net additions were 163,000, up 50 percent year over- year, and pre-pay net adds were 183,000. Reseller net adds, which Alltel is including this quarter in order to be consistent with industry practice, were 39,000. Total net adds were 385,000, an all-time high.
• Post-pay churn was 1.34 percent, essentially flat year-over-year, and total churn was 1.83 percent, up 6 basis points year-over-year.
• Average revenue per wireless customer (ARPU) was $53.64, up 2 percent from last year. Data revenue per customer reached a new high of $7.50, a 60 percent increase year-over-year.
• Consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $847 million, an 18 percent increase from the same period a year ago.
A table describing consolidated EBITDA and reconciling net income to consolidated EBITDA is included in the schedules accompanying this release.
Alltel operates America's largest wireless network, which delivers voice and advanced data services nationwide to more than 13 million customers. Headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., Alltel is a Forbes 500 company with annual revenues of nearly $9 billion.
Alltel claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual future events and results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, projections, beliefs, and assumptions and are not guarantees of future events and results.
Comments
id tap that guy
I'm sorry but the alltel guy is even gay-er looking then the "dude your getting a dell" guy, they need a new spokesperson
"Alltel, the runt of the nationwide carriers, added 1 million customers this past quarter, totally now over 13 million subscribers."
TOTALLY BRO!
I use it. You're not missing anything. I wish they'd step into 1999 and allow sim cards.
If he were gay, the top button in his shirt wouldn't be buttoned, and his sleeves would be stylishly rolled. Dude, get with the times. Learn to spot your queers!
And who knew something good could come out of Arkansas?
The only people I know who use Alltel live in Arkansas or Texas. Don't know anyone around here that use it.
I use it. You're not missing anything. I wish they'd step into 1999 and offer service with SIM cards.
WIZZZAAARRDDDDD!!!!
[www.bullshitjob.com]
@dcdttu: I used to work at all the major clubs in NYC, don't worry I have no problem spotting a gay. Luckily they leave you alone when they know your not gay
Chad's so dreamy.
This is better.
[www.luminomagazine.com]
Don't ask, don't Alltel.
@jdhuck: Man, you beat me to it. In one of the programs we use there's an "Add Wizard" and I've got to say "WIZZARRRDDD!!" every time I use it.
So my big question is where in the world are these carriers finding millions of new subscribers. Don't get me wrong I know they are working hard, but with very few available customers (that can pay their bills), how are carriers finding 5 million new subscribers in just 3 months and after the holiday shopping season? I know Sprint lost a 1/5 of those but they also gained nearly 800,000 so it is a bit of a wash.
Part of me sees this as a clever bit of accounting that will come back to bite them just like Enron, or they have lowered their credit requirements and will lose the customers when they can't pay. Or maybe they are like AT&T if you can't pay they don't call you a deadbeat they list you as a GO Phone Add.
I know the market loves the easy answer of just looking at total added subscribers but there are other metrics that tell the story much better and paint a very different picture than these huge add numbers do.
@jdhuck:
I was too late!!
From Texas and a long time Alltel customer.
They don't ALWAYS have the cool new phones.
They don't ALWAYS have the best sales people in their corporate stores. (who does?)
They DO have a CDMA network which covers more than cities and major roadways.
They DO offer broadband internet in rural areas where options are slim thanks to their aggressive EVDO roll outs. It's rather nice to be in the middle of a state park and get broadband speeds.
They DO provide solid service on their home networks, quality of service is top notch.
With the addition of $99 unlimited plans I think they can pull another 1,000,000 customers in the next quarter.
Also on their side is their "authorized dealer" program, and thus independent sales locations cover small communities quite well. It would be interesting to see how their sales numbers look from these locations.
My cities population: 15,000
Alltel Corporate Stores: 2
Dealer locations: 4
People I know NOT on alltel: 3
@shaniac:The numbers are adds after defections due to churn. So for Alltel, the formula is:
(gross ads - churn) = +1 million.
Sprint (gross ads - churn)= -1 million.
Alltel has the 2nd best commericals to AT&T, so they've got that going for them.
I use Alltel. I have used every iteration of Alltel that has existed in my area, or at least the companies that have purchased each other on the way to being bought out by Alltel.
Its a decent company, but I wish they would get up to speed on phone tech. I am stuck using a Razr, and would love to have a sim card. Oh well, thats the breaks when you live in the middle of a corn field.
Sprint doesn't feel bad, they have the SAMSUNG INSTINCT BABY!
This is where i would normally write a joke, but the only joke here is sprint. This article says a lot. It says:
"Even with our annoying, super-homo tv ads, we can still get customers. Sprint, with it's terrible quality, poor customer service, and lack of super-homo tv ads is getting beat by ALLTEL!!"
Before i get a mean response about it, yes, i've used sprint. I don't anymore, thanks to the iphone, and my $150 early termination fee.
@shaniac: Maybe this piece from a few weeks back will help solve some of the fuzzy new-subscriber math.
@dcdttu: Its not an iPhone so he probably isn't.
I know what they mean by saying gross wireless customers, but the non-accountant in me likes to think that all their new customers must be pretty nasty.
That said, gross customers clearly shows that there is likely some customers that left the carrier as well. The commenter above who asks where these new 1M+ customers come from...from all the carriers who lose subscribers. Or said another way, I can lose 5k (or 1 million - doesn't matter) customers and gain 5k customers in one day (just to make up numbers...). I can happily report that I have added 5k gross wireless customers and make the stock holders happy. However, net customer change is 0.
I've had Alltel for 3 years now. The service is great in Virginia because it shares towers with Verizon. With the 10 person MyCircle, calls after 7pm and weekends free, my wife and I use about 200 out of out 1000 minutes. Only costs us about $80 a month.
@Geogeo: Why not keep that to yourself, no?
@zenpoet: @Superevil: I'm not sure why you are asking for SIM cards when only GSM networks have SIM cards. As Alltel subscribers, you should know that Alltel is a CDMA wireless provider. If you really want a sim card I believe that Alltel has the Blackberry World edition which is a quad-band CDMA/GSM phone with a sim card in it, else wise you would have to switch to AT&T or T-Mobile for a sim card.
Wait a minute. They said they added a million new customers, but failed to mention that they had over 600,000 cancel or go to another carrier? The key piece in the press release is this:
"Post-pay net additions were 163,000, up 50 percent year over- year, and pre-pay net adds were 183,000."
Prepay adds are essentially worthless because they have by far the highest churn percentages in the industry, usually topping 50%. So take the net adds of 163,000 for post paid and I'm supposed to get excited over that?
@jkoppee:
You worked at ALL the major clubs in NYC..every single one?
@TechnoElf:
Half the people wanting a SIM card don't even know what the hell a SIM card does. They just hear their friends talk about one and suddenly they HAVE to have it.
I have Alltel and have been with them since they were GTE Mobilenet, heh. They are a step behind in phones but the service is really good and their customer service is good, too. I really can't complain about them at all. They have an HTC 6800 and Touch, and those are pretty high end good phones. They have several Blackberries and those are good too. Sorry if I sound like a schill for them but there aren't many posts about them on here. I read somewhere that since they were bought and have been doing pretty good business their phone selection is going to get a lot better.
I'm on Alltel, as is my wife and her family (we live in Georgia, my in-laws live in Ohio).
I've always wondered why the Gizmodo posts leave out Alltel when they talk about cellphones, it's not a small cell phone provider.
@Dook_In_The_Urinal: Yeah, at least no one has been upset about not being able to have an iPhone on Alltel yet.
@fireshaper: Probably because as they said in the article they know no one who uses it since Alltel is not in any major cities like New York and Chicago. Well, there is coverage there just not actual Alltel spectrum.
I know I'm late here but your man up there is clearly Prince Harry.
The big rumor here in the South is that Arkansas based Alltel is trying very, very hard to buy Mississippi based Cellular South. Both CDMA, each within 300 miles of each other "operations center" wise and with Cellular South being the largest private regional carrier in the nation, it's a very attractive buy-out option to Alltel (as well as to Verizon for the CDMA network Cellular South has aggressively built in the South).
And how much did they spend to capture a "million" subs? Their ads are more incessant than presidential campaign ads and I'm in San Diego. Alltel doesn't even exist in SoCal.
Why would anyone get a CDMA phone? It's not that CDMA doesn't work fine, but the phone selection sucks. The rest of the planet uses GSM and has hundreds of innovative phones from which to choose, including the awesome iPhone if you can stand AT&T (or are willing to hack it for use on T-Mobile).
Sprint and Alltel are just biding their time until they can sell out to some wireless operator that operates with 21st century equipment.
@Dook_In_The_Urinal: True! Give them all a Nextel and tell them to Shut Up!
@my favorite car is a motorcycle: thats it right there you just answered your own question so to clarify why would i ant a CDMA phone well 1.i HATE at&t and IMHO i shouldn't have to tolerate my carrier and as for t-mob well they don't get much service in my area. 2.CDMA phones aren't THAT bad (except for verizon they suck all around) but if i had a choice i would go GSM however as of right now i have no other option other than Alltel (plus everyone i know uses it).There is some shred of hope left however as i hear T-mob is expanding their service to include more rural areas.
@my favorite car is a motorcycle:
Because I want 3G speeds with adequate customer service and coverage. At the moment, that leaves only Verizon. Most people only buy a new phone every 2 years, don't travel outside of America, and dont import phones. So to them, Verizon is just as good as AT&T, and vice-versa.
Alltel has coverage contracts with Verizon. So Alltel can use Verizon towers and they have some towers of their own. Coverage is so good in Arizona that the Arizona state forest firefighters are switching to Alltel.
I am an Alltel customer and a Cellular One before that. I can only speak to our coverage and service out here in west Texas. CDMA signals just seem to cover better out here. Before the name was changed to AT&T (deathstar) Cingular was refered to as suckular. Say what you will CDMA has proven a stronger technology than GSM here. Not only that but EVDO has proven WAAAAYY better than anything AT&T offers.
For years and years there have been two carriers in my state. Hell, my region of the U.S. Verizon and, since Alltel bought CellularOne, Alltel.
CDMA was the *only* choice.
Just recently one of the local Verizon resellers (also a Radio Shack) in my itty-bitty town has started selling GSM phones and service from a 'local' GSM provider, called Union Wireless, I think. The coverage maps include a legend indicating where you can actually get phone service *inside of a building*!! Sweet, right!?
I get 1200 minutes a month, unlimited night/wknd/m2m two "lines" unlimited txt/picture messaging for less than $100/month.
And Gizmodo never mentions Alltel in their discussions about cellphone companies. So. *nyah*
I'm in winston-salem, and tons of folks around here use Alltel. I have been an Alltel subscriber since '97 and have been thuroughly pleased with the service. I honestly have no idea what a dropped call feels like. Their pricing is great, coverage is great, and they are finally starting to boost their phone lineup a bit. I can't find any reasons why I would want to leave Alltel.
Maybe the lack of Alltel press is the fact that they don't slam people with crazy bills like the guy from AT&T who got a $14,000 bill in the mail for his data usage. If you read consumerist you hear of this happening all the time.
I have friends who's kids ran up $100 in txt messaging one month. Customer service just added a bigger TXT plan, back dated it, dropped $95 off the bill. I have NEVER used any of the other carriers so I don't know if this is common practice across the board or not.
The only problem I had prior to this year was a lack of roaming options in Canada, but they have added "North American Freedom" plans for people who have to travel north for work. I just simply bought a pre-paid sim and found an old GSM phone on ebay for a few bucks for the week I was in Vancouver. No major hassle.
@TechnoElf: what that means is that I, and I can only speak for myself, am looking for an upgraded network, not necessarily just the card. CDMA usually has the crappy phones, so I would like to see a new network. I am sure that it would cost billions, but hey, I want a cooler phone.
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