Yup, that headline does sound crazy, but the numbers do not lie. Based on the most recent quarterly earnings report that Sprint has just released recently, the major US wireless carrier actually managed to record its first profit in three years time, and the company accomplished that during the same quarter (Q2 2017) that it started offering one whole year of free wireless service. Along the way, the mobile operator also gained 61,000 net new customers. That figure might not surpass the volume of additions registered during the second quarter of last year, but it does represent a step in the right direction for Sprint. As explained by Marcelo Claure, the chief executive officer of Sprint, the return to profits is a good sign that the company is beginning to bounce back, and that its cost restructuring efforts are starting to pay off.
To Sprint’s credit, it did a lot of things right during the second quarter of this year. Chief among them is the decision to offer unlimited service for a whole year to those customers willing to switch from other rival networks to Sprint. And then the major US wireless carrier also did well in its reboot of its Virgin Mobile, remolding one of its prepaid arms into a mobile operator that sells only iPhone devices. For good measure, Virgin is also offering one full year of unlimited service for just one dollar.
Many have considered Sprint’s one free year of wireless service as the most generous so far, at least among the Big Four carriers, which also include Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile. But it takes more than a promotional deal to convince mobile users to stay in the long run. Quality of network and reach of coverage are still the most important deciding factors, and Sprint is looking forward to the opportunity to convince consumers that its infrastructure and service has come a long way.
According to its latest quarterly earnings report, Sprint also revealed that it lost 39,000 net postpaid customers during the second quarter of this year. The company attributes this loss to the ever shrinking volume of tablet users. The carrier, however, has gained 88,000 net new phone customers.
Sprint has also hit headlines recently for a different reason -- talks persist regarding potential a merger deal between the carrier and cable giants Charter and Comcast. Although it bears noting that just this week, Charter has claimed it is not planning to acquire Sprint at all.
