EDINGURG, Va.-Rural telecommunications provider and Sprint PCS affiliate Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. reported a 21-percent year-over-year increase in wireless revenues during the first quarter to $18.2 million and net income of $500,000 this year compared with a net loss of $700,000 during the first quarter of 2003.
The company said it added 4,500 wireless subscribers during the first quarter of this year compared with 4,900 net customer additions last year, ending the first three months of 2004 with approximately 90,000 wireless subscribers. Shenandoah’s customer growth fell short of last year’s results despite a drop in customer churn from 2.6 percent during the first quarter of 2003 to 2.2 percent this year.
While Shenandoah’s traditional net customer additions were down slightly, the carrier’s wholesale operations witnessed an increase in customer additions from 1,600 subscribers during the first quarter of 2003 to 3,500 net wholesale subscriber additions this year. The company said it ended the first quarter of this year with 16,000 total wholesale customers.
