Sprint’s customer blood letting slowed to a small trickle.

Sprint hasn’t been having the best of times the last several…years, but that isn’t stopping the company from putting out the occasionally optimistic and charismatic commercial telling us that everything is just fine and dandy. Well, it isn’t just fine and dandy as they’re still losing customers — albeit at a much slower pace.

During the last 3 months of 2009, a total of 148,000 Sprint customers decided to defect and take their business elsewhere. It sounds like a high number with six digits and all but in reality is much, much better news than quarters past. For example, previously in the third quarter, more than 3x that number (545,000) of customers called it quits with Sprint. So you see, a roughly 150k subscriber loss is a good thing.

As far as money is concerned, Sprint managed to only lose $980 million during the same last 3 months of ’09 as mentioned above which again, is in stark contrast to the monumental and heart stopping $1.62 billion loss a year prior.

Is Sprint heading towards a profit? Not quite yet. It’s worth noting that most of the good news for Sprint has stemmed from their prepaid accounts and subscribers. Those accounts on average only score Sprint ~$31/month while the more highly valued contract subscribers average ~$50+. Also, a big chunk of the losses come from Sprint’s Nextel brand which frankly, was a poor purchase in the first place. Personal opinions aside, the aging Nextel network and rather drab assortment of phones means consumers are unlikely to return in mass numbers. Clearly, they’re not out of the woods yet.

In the spirit of competition and a better overall experience for end users, I hope Sprint can right their sinking ship soon.

AlleyInsider

Author: Mike Norris

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Gadget lover, smartphone collector, and beer connoisseur. I've been writing about gadgets for three years now and loving every minute of it. Outside of the digital landscape, I enjoy being active outdoors. I'm always up for a good conversation, so feel free to drop me a line!