MetroPCS Will Launch Three New Markets If T-Mobile Deal Is Approved
Taking the stage at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference earlier today, MetroPCS Chairman and CEO Roger Linquist and CFO Braxton Carter discussed the pending deal with T-Mobile. Specifically, Linquist discussed that 2013 will be a year of stabilization for T-Mobile’s postpaid customer base and a year of growth for MetroPCS. In fact, Carter says that MetroPCS will expand its service to 3 additional markets if the T-Mobile deal is approved. MetroPCS officials wouldn’t discuss the pending markets, but New Orleans and Minneapolis are said to be on the short list.
When asked about his company’s LTE network, Linquist said that the company has more than 20% of its customer base already on LTE and that 75% of all upgrades are switching to LTE. The company’s average customer on their $55 unlimited usage plan uses around 2GB of data per month. Linquist also expects that the $4 billion T-Mobile is spending on network upgrades will increase as the two companies begin to merge their networks.
T-Mobile and MetroPCS are expected to discuss more of the financial impact later this week at the Deutsche Telekom investor conference. Coincidentally, this is said to be the same meeting a Merrill Lynch analyst predicts an iPhone launch for T-Mobile.