T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) said that its "porting ratio" with Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ)--essentially the number of customers switching between the two carriers--dropped from 1.6 in the first quarter to 1.5 in the second quarter. That decline during the second quarter is notable considering in May T-Mobile launched its "Never Settle Trial," wherein T-Mobile is offering Verizon customers the opportunity to try T-Mobile's network and service for up to two weeks at no cost.
Although the carrier said the Verizon-to-T-Mobile porting figure has fallen slightly, T-Mobile's Mike Katz proclaimed the promotion an ongoing success. "It's been a really successful program for us," he told FierceWireless. "Our flows coming from Verizon are still really, really strong."
Katz, a senior VP and head of T-Mobile's advertising efforts, pointed out that Verizon's porting ratio to T-Mobile in the fourth quarter was 1.4, making the first and second quarter improvements over that figure. He also noted that T-Mobile's porting ratios with all of the nation's Tier 1 carriers remain positive--meaning that AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon and Sprint (NYSE: S) are all losing customers to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is generally the only major carrier that reports porting ratios.
The slight decline in Verizon's porting ratio to T-Mobile between the first and second quarter stands in contrast to T-Mobile's reported porting ratios with other carriers. As BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk pointed out, T-Mobile's porting ratio with AT&T rose from 1.8 to 1.9 during the period and the carrier's porting ratio with Sprint rose from 2.45 to 2.50.
However, as industry analyst (and FierceWireless
T-Mobile early last month extended its "Never Settle Trial" promotion through June 27. The promotion was supposed to run from May 13 through May 31. The promotion is a response to Verizon's recent advertising slogan that uses the "never settle" tag line, and implies that customers who choose the other carriers are settling for inferior network quality.
T-Mobile's Katz said the carrier continues to offer the "Never Settle Trial" to Verizon customers, and has not set an end date for the offering.
Related articles:
T-Mobile extends 'Never Settle' free 2-week trial with promotion targeting Verizon
T-Mobile likely dumped Twitter ad against Verizon after some backlash
T-Mobile targets Verizon customers with free two-week trial