T-Mobile, the country’s fourth-largest wireless service provider, posted big gains in new subscribers for the first quarter of 2014, as customers continue to buy in on its discounted plans and aggressive marketing moves.
The company added 2.4 million subscribers during the period, up from 579,000 from the year before. The growth marks the first time that T-Mobile has added more than 2 million subscribers in a single quarter. The company, which is partly owned by Deutsche Telekom, also reported 1.3 million new postpaid customers and 465,000 new prepaid customers.
“A year ago I promised that we would bring change to what I called this arrogant U.S. wireless industry. We are delivering on that promise and our results reflect the growing customer revolution that we’ve ignited,” said John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile, in a press release.
Last month, the company announced three new promotions called “Simple Starter,” Tablet Freedom,” and “Overage Freedom.” Through the programs, the company eliminated overage fees and offered discounted plans for mobile devices.
T-Mobile’s consumer gains and aggressive marketing comes at a cost. The company also announced a quarterly loss of $151 million. In the same period last year, it reported a gain of $106 million. Nonetheless, its customers growth outpaces that of its bigger rivals. During the first quarter of this year, Verizon reported 549,000 new wireless customers while AT&T added 1,062,000 new wireless subscribers.
