MetroPCS draws record number of flat-rate subs

Flat-rate carrier MetroPCS attracted 454,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to about 3.4 million. That growth in subscribers contributed significantly to the firm's bottom line. The company said its total revenue for the quarter was $537 million, an increase of 63 percent over first quarter 2006. In addition, operations income was $103 million--up 118 percent over first quarter 2006.  Here are some other key metrics for the firm:

ARPU: Average revenue per user was $43.75, up slightly from a year ago figure of $43.12.

Churn: Churn decreased slightly from 4.4 percent in first quarter 2006 to 4 percent. Of course, flat-rate operators don't have subscriber contracts so their churn rates are typically much higher than traditional operators.

For more on MetroPCS:
- see this release