MetroPCS Gaining On The Big Guys, But Where Is Critical Mass?

MetroPCS just posted great year-end and quarterly results - subscribers jumping up substantially and churn decreasing as well.  The company is a dwarf compared to the jumbo-sized network operators AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, but it's growing fast and it's coverage footprint is expanding rapidly.  MetroPCS even beat Verizon and everyone else to the initial deployment of an LTE network in the US.

MetroPCS serves just 8 million customers, compared to about 92 million for AT&T and 93 million for Verizon Wireless.  The smallest of the major network operators, T-Mobile, still has about 33 million customers, nearly four times the size of MetroPCS - but even at this small size, it is close to achieving a critical mass in the marketplace and disrupting a US mobile market that has become one of the most expensive in the world.

Today MetroPCS is known for it's cheap rate plans and even cheaper phones.  But the company is quickly moving up-market, mirroring the spread of smartphones and mobile data consumption across the country.  MetroPCS is now offering Blackberries with unlimited voice, corporate e-mail, and web browsing for $65 - substantially less than the nearest competitive offering from T-Mobile.  Comparable plans from Verizon & AT&T cost well over $100 monthly.

MetroPCS' coverage map showing 90% of the US covered according to their web site.

MetroPCS currently covers about 90% of the US population.  From what I can tell, coverage remains somewhat weak - not strong enough to really disrupt the existing players.  However, at their current rate of growth in coverage and product offerings, the US wireless market could see a new round of price wars in 2012 as MetroPCS becomes a credible alternative to most mass-market subscribers.