T-Mobile posts 18% year-over-year data revenue growth

T-Mobile USA reported third quarter net income of $417 million, down from $442 million in the year-ago quarter--in addition, the operator suffered subscriber losses totaling 77,000, blamed on higher churn among contract customers. T-Mobile USA now serves 33.4 million subscribers, with churn growing from 2.2 percent in Q2 2009 to 2.4 percent in the current quarter--the operator cited "competitive intensity, including handset innovation, and the seasonal impact from the ‘back-to-school' window" for the increase. Service revenues were off slightly from $4.77 billion in the second quarter to $4.73 million, and ARPU slipped from $48 in Q2 to $47--in the third quarter of 2008, ARPU topped $52. According to T-Mobile USA, growth in data services was offset by customer migration to unlimited plans and a reduction in roaming.

T-Mobile USA's data services revenue reached $1 billion in the third quarter, representing 21.1 percent of blended ARPU, or $10.00 per customer--an increase from 20.8 percent/$9.90 per customer in the previous quarter and up from 17.3 percent/$8.90 per customer a year ago, translating to 18 percent year-over-year data services revenue growth. T-Mobile reports that 2.8 million 3G-capable converged devices (including the MyTouch, G1 and Dash 3G) were on its network at the end of the third quarter, a year-over-year increase of 33 percent--the operator said the increase of 3G-capable converged devices and the continued build-out of its 3G network is driving web access revenue growth, crediting increased adoption of 3G data plans for offsetting a decrease in messaging revenue. T-Mobile USA carried 75 billion messages in the third quarter, up from 74 billion in second quarter and 49 billion a year ago.

For more on T-Mobile USA's Q3 results:
- read this release
- check out our comprehensive coverage of the Q3 earnings season here

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