Clearwire said it expects to exceed its earlier guidance of 10 million subscribers by year-end as its wholesale partners continue to add new customers for the Wimax service. Clearwire added 35,000 new retail customers and 1.86 million new wholesale customers, mainly from Sprint, in the third quarter. It ended September with a total 9.54 million subscribers, up 240 percent from a year earlier. The subscriber base consists of 1.32 million retail and 8.22 million wholesale subscribers. The company's quarterly revenue rose to USD 332.2 million from USD 142.2 million a year ago, of which USD 137.2 million came from wholesale services and the remainder from retail and other services. Retail ARPU improved to USD 47.05 from USD 43.10 in the year-earlier period, and wholesale ARPU rose to USD 6.20 from USD 4.46 over the same period, helped by growing usage. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was a loss of USD 46.4 million, an improvement from a loss of USD 79.6 million in the second quarter and USD 284.1 million a year ago. The net loss was USD 84.8 million, or USD 0.35 per basic share. At the end of the quarter, Clearwire's networks covered 135 million people. The company cut its guidance for capex this year by USD 100 million to less than USD 300 million, excluding any spending on the planned expansion in LTE. Clearwire had USD 711 million in cash at the end of the period. Clearwire also confirmed changes to its retail pricing, where it will no longer require contracts. Customers can buy the unlimited Wimax service (subject to FUP) for USD 50 per month, as well as purchase hourly or daily plans.
