InternetSlipping Revenue Breaks Sprint's Stride

Efforts to push data services and cut churn keep the third-largest U.S. carrier optimistic, but it's still suffering worse than its rivals.

Sprint CEO Dan HesseSource: Reuters Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) may be making strides in pushing data services and cutting down on its customer churn, but the No. 3 U.S. carrier is still losing money -- and CEO Dan Hesse admits there's still a great deal of work ahead. The company reported second-quarter results today, showing that efforts to improve customer service are paying off. But a 11 percent revenue drop, to $9.06 billion, caused it to miss analysts' revenue expectations of $9.17 billion. The Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier reported a loss of $344 million, or 12 cents per share, during the second quarter compared to the second quarter of 2007, when it earned $19 million, or 1 cent per share. The company said it had 51.9 million customers this quarter, compared to 54.0 million last year at this time -- cementing its position in third place behind market leader AT&T and Verizon Wireless, both of which reported positive quarterly financial results earlier in the summer. Both rivals attributed a large part of their staying power to success in promoting data services, which carriers are finding important to gaining and retaining valuable customers -- since calling plans with data typically cost more than voice-only services, and data users are more active with devices, according to industry observers. RELATED ARTICLES Sprint CEO: The Future Is Open (to Speed) Wireless Price War a Boon to Enterprise Mobility Sluggish Economy Not Hurting Verizon Data... [ Read more on www.internetnews.com ]

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