U.S. Cellular, Leap, MetroPCS, and four other regional carriers: Centennial, Qwest, Cincinnati Bell, and Ntelos. Combined, they’re up to 17 million subscribers, up from 15.09 at this time last year, representing a 12.7 percent growth. Last year, however, these carriers grew 16.3 percent. This number wasn’t held back by Metro or Leap, ranking two and three among the mentioned carriers, respectively. Metro grew 29.5 percent, and Leap 23.6 percent. Even they, though, have seen declining growth over the past year. Sadly, though, both Metro and Leap saw declines in ARPU. Metro saw the worst of it, down $1.41. Leap dropped 78 cents, and still maintains a slightly higher mark than its rival Metro. ARPU was up at all of the other mentioned carriers, except Ntelos, which saw the worst loss of them at $1.53. We’re getting into tougher times for all cellular operators. The economy isn’t at its best, and we’re seeing a level of saturation in the U.S. cellular market. In fact, JupiterResearch claims that we’ll see slowing growth through 2013. It’s only going to make things tough on the smaller carriers. I know it’s probably not going to happen, but does anyone else see merger opportunities here? Or should the small carriers just stay small? It’s a question they’ll have to figure out over the next few years.]]>
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