Leap Wireless

Last updated
Leap Wireless International, Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Telecommunications
Founded1999;25 years ago (1999)
DefunctMarch 13, 2014;9 years ago (March 13, 2014)
FateAcquired by AT&T
Headquarters,
United States
RevenueDecrease2.svg US$ $694 million (Q4 2013)
Decrease2.svg US$ $160 million (Q4 2013)
Parent AT&T
Subsidiaries Cricket Wireless
Jump Mobile
Pocket Communications (76%)

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. (Cricket Wireless). It was headquartered in San Diego, California. Leap Wireless and Cricket Wireless are now subsidiaries of AT&T.

Contents

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

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

Jump Mobile
Company type Private
Industry Telecommunications
Founded2005 (2005)
DefunctFebruary 26, 2010 (2010-02-26)
Headquarters,
United States
Parent Leap Wireless
Website jumpmobile.com

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.

Jump Mobile offered prepaid mobile phone services to customers in 25 U.S. states. Leap Wireless retired the Jump Mobile brand on February 26, 2010, and migrated all customers to its Cricket Wireless "Pay Go" service. Leap Wireless was subsequently acquired by AT&T.

Jump Mobile's features allowed customers unlimited incoming calls from any country, and outgoing calls within the coverage area for a per-minute charge, and unlimited text messaging service within the United States. International text messages and calls were available for additional charges. [5] Through the Cricket/Leap Wireless Network, coverage was about half of the continental United States, with broadband coverage in several metropolitan areas. [6]

The pre-paid service included voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, directory assistance, ringtones, games, and wallpapers.

The terms and conditions for Jump Mobile [7] required customers to maintain paid credit on their accounts. If all funds and minutes expired, after a sixty-day grace period service lapsed and customers lost their telephone numbers. [7] The company offered both "service credit" and "Airtime To Go"; the former expired within a fixed period that began when the credit was applied and that varied based on the amount. "Airtime to Go" had the same range of expiration periods (from 15 to 100 days) but the countdown to expiration didn't begin until the airtime was activated. [7]

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. When outside the Cricket or Sprint coverage areas, customers roamed on the Verizon Wireless network and had voice and text services only.

Following the AT&T acquisition, in 2015, the CDMA network was decommissioned and CDMA devices ceased functioning. Presently, customers are covered by AT&T's national LTE/NR network. This network supports LTE on bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 17, 29, 30, 46, and 66; and NR on bands 2, 5, 77, 258, and 260.

Related Research Articles

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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. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  5. Archived November 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. http://www.mycricket.com/cricketcoveragemaps/ - National Coverage Tab on Page
  7. 1 2 3 Archived April 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "MetroPCS | Investor Relations | Press Release". Investor.metropcs.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  9. "Leap "mistakenly" records revenue from nonexistent customers". Prepaid Reviews. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  10. "Search - Global Edition - The New York Times". International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
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  12. "Leap Wireless - Investor Relations - Press Release". Phx.corporate-ir.net. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  13. "Leap Wireless Restates Its Financials". Informationweek. 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  14. Mccracken, Jeffrey (2010-02-02). "Leap Wireless Seeks a Buyer - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.