MetroPCS gets jump on Leap with Vegas launch

MetroPCS Communications Inc. launched service in Las Vegas and unveiled two new handsets.
The Dallas-based carrier launched its flat-rate, unlimited service and announced plans to operate roughly six dozen retail locations in the greater Las Vegas area. MetroPCS also said it will establish four company-owned stores by the end of July, and estimated it will create 150 jobs by the end of the year.
The move sets the stage for a showdown between MetroPCS and Leap Wireless International Inc., which plans to launch its Cricket service in Las Vegas this year.
“Las Vegas is known for big prizefights, and we will have one in the wireless arena as Leap expects to launch service” in the city soon, Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss noted. The city, which claims roughly two million people, will be the first major metropolitan area where MetroPCS and Cricket will go head-to-head; the carriers also compete in the California central valley cities of Modesto and Merced, Prentiss said.
Sprint Nextel Corp.’s Boost Mobile currently offers local, flat-rate calling in Las Vegas, having launched service in October.
The open question, though, is whether MetroPCS and Leap will at some point resume merger talks; negotiations failed between the two carriers last year.
MetroPCS also introduced two new phones from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., slated for an April release. The Samsung MyShot and Spex will be MetroPCS’ first phones to operate on the 1.7/2.1GHz advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum.
MetroPCS recently topped the four million-subscriber mark, and the carrier last week launched service in Jacksonville, Fla. The company’s next move will be in the Northeast, Prentiss said, with service launches in Philadelphia, Boston and New York.
Shares of MetroPCS edged down 34 cents, or 2%, following both announcements.