Leap Wireless

This article is about a wireless telecommunications company. For disambiguation, see LEAP (disambiguation).
Leap Wireless International, Inc.
Subsidiary
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 1999 (1999)
Defunct 2014
Headquarters San Diego, California, United States
Revenue Decrease US$ $694 million (Q4 2013)
Decrease US$ $160 million (Q4 2013)
Owner AT&T
Subsidiaries Cricket Wireless

Leap Wireless International, Inc. was a telecommunications operator that provided wireless services to approximately 4.6 million subscribers, the 5th largest, through its subsidiary, Cricket Communications, Inc. It was headquartered in San Diego, California.

Leap was founded in 1999 and was built on the premise of unlimited services with no contracts and no credit checks, providing access to wireless services to customers who couldn’t otherwise afford it, didn't want the long-term commitment of a one- or two-year contract, or had a moral or religious objection to a credit check. A credit check is normally required for contract plans offered by telecommunications companies.

Leap has all-digital CDMA 1X, EV-DO and LTE networks that have expanded significantly in the past few years.[1]

On July 12, 2013, AT&T agreed to buy Leap Wireless for $1.2 billion.[2] On March 13, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger between AT&T and Leap Wireless.[3] On the same day Leap announced the completion of the acquisition by AT&T.[4]

Cricket Wireless

Main article: Cricket Wireless

Cricket Communications, Inc. d.b.a. Cricket Wireless or simply Cricket, founded in 1999, was a subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. prior to Leap's acquisition by AT&T. It provides prepaid wireless services in the United States.

Jump Mobile

Main article: Jump Mobile

Jump Mobile was a subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. The pre-paid wireless service was not an MVNO, as it used its parent company’s CDMA 1xEV-DO network to provide pre-paid wireless services to its customers.

Jump Mobile launched in its first market in 2005, and discontinued services and operations in 2010.

History

Executive Team prior to AT&T acquisition

Coverage Areas

Cricket subscribers, prior to the AT&T acquisition, were previously covered by Cricket's own network, along with that of Sprint for native CDMA coverage with voice, text, and data available on these networks. Off of these networks, customers roamed on the Verizon Wireless network and had voice and text services only.

Following the AT&T acquisition, earlier this year, the CDMA coverage was discontinued and Cricket shut off the remaining CDMA devices. Presently, customers are covered by AT&T's national GSM/LTE network. This network supports GSM/EDGE in the 850/1900 bands, UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ in the 850/1900 bands, and LTE on bands 2,4,5 and 17.

References

  1. "Leap Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Results - Feb 20, 2013". leapwireless.mediaroom.com. 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  2. 1 2 Yu, Roger (July 13, 2013). "AT&T to buy Leap Wireless for $1.2 billion". USA Today. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Welch, Chris (March 13, 2014). "FCC approves AT&T's purchase of Leap Wireless, says it's 'in the public interest'". The Verge. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  4. "AT&T/Leap Merger - March 13, 2014". leapwireless.mediaroom.com. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  5. "MetroPCS | Investor Relations | Press Release". Investor.metropcs.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  6. "Leap "mistakenly" records revenue from nonexistent customers". Prepaid Reviews. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  7. "Search - Global Edition - The New York Times". International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  8. "Leap Wireless Finance Head Quits - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  9. "Leap Wireless - Investor Relations - Press Release". Phx.corporate-ir.net. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  10. "Leap Wireless Restates Its Financials". Informationweek. 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  11. Mccracken, Jeffrey (2010-02-02). "Leap Wireless Seeks a Buyer - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.

External links

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