WSJ: Sprint Has No HTC EVO 4G Phones to Sell You
Talk about success coming around to bite you in the behind: Apparently Sprint has done such a good job selling its first WiMAX phone, the HTC EVO 4G, that the company doesn’t have any more to sell you — and because of component shortages, HTC hasn’t been able to manufacture enough to keep up with the demand, leaving Sprint empty-handed as it tries to exploit its 4G services lead.
The story that appeared Sunday by the Wall Street Journal breaking the news did contain one fact error, mainly an error of omission. While correctly noting that Sprint does not break out its 4G subscriber numbers, the Journal said “Clearwire Corp., which is building the new network and in which Sprint owns a 56% stake, had 157,000 customers on the network from companies including Sprint at the end of the first quarter.” However, that’s not all the subscribers Clearwire has on its network, but the Journal didn’t include that number — so we will.
What the Journal probably meant to say is that Clearwire has 157,000 wholesale customers on its network as of the end of Q1, a total that includes subscribers added mainly by Sprint and Comcast. Overall, Clearwire had approximately 721,000 subscribers on its 4G network at the end of Q1, a total that includes the 157,000 wholesale customers with the rest being Clearwire’s direct customers.
For more clarity on Clearwire’s numbers see our recaps from the Q1 conference call and the year-end conference call. While Clearwire has not yet set the date for its second-quarter earnings call, it will likely be sometime in early August. Sprint’s Q2 call is scheduled for July 28.
Update: Let’s hope more reporters actually listen in to the calls and report correct numbers, instead of repeating the Journal’s errors.
