Cricket Wireless 2012 Annual Report Download - page 16

Item 1. Business
Overview
We are a wireless communications carrier that offers digital wireless services in the U.S. under the
“Cricket®” brand. Our Cricket service offerings provide customers with unlimited nationwide wireless services
for a flat rate without requiring a fixed-term contract or a credit check.
Cricket service is offered by Cricket, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap. Cricket service is also offered in
South Texas by our joint venture, STX Wireless Operations, LLC, or STX Operations, which Cricket controls
through a 75.75% membership interest in its parent company STX Wireless, LLC, or STX Wireless. For more
information regarding this venture, see “Part II — Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Capital Expenditures, Significant
Acquisitions and Other Transactions.”
Leap was formed as a Delaware corporation in 1998. Leap’s shares began trading publicly in September
1998, and we launched our innovative Cricket service in March 1999. Leap conducts operations through its
subsidiaries and has no independent operations or sources of income other than interest income and through
dividends, if any, from its subsidiaries.
Cricket Business Overview
Cricket Service
As of December 31, 2012, Cricket service was offered in 48 states and the District of Columbia across an
extended area covering approximately 292 million POPs. As of December 31, 2012, we had approximately
5.3 million customers, and we owned wireless licenses covering an aggregate of approximately 136.7 million
POPs (adjusted to eliminate duplication from overlapping licenses). The combined network footprint in our
operating markets covered approximately 96.2 million POPs as of December 31, 2012. The licenses we own
provide an average of 23 MHz of coverage in our operating markets. In addition to our Cricket network footprint,
we have entered into roaming relationships with other wireless carriers that enable us to offer Cricket customers
nationwide voice and data roaming services over an extended service area. We have also entered into a wholesale
agreement, which we use to offer Cricket services in nationwide retailers outside of our current network
footprint.
Cricket Business Strategy
•Deliver Superior Customer Experience. Because we offer monthly services without a fixed-term
contract, we are required to earn our customers’ business every month. As a result, we are focused on
improving the experience we provide customers so that they choose to remain a Cricket customer for a
longer period. We are improving our device activation process, spending more time with customers to
help ensure that they understand and are comfortable with the device they are purchasing. We have also
significantly improved the quality of our device portfolio in recent years, including introducing higher-
end smartphones such as the iPhone®and Samsung Galaxy handsets. In addition, we are introducing
improvements to the in-store experience we and our dealers provide our customers. We are also working
to improve ways that we resolve customer service issues, including by introducing more self-service
alternatives and improving the quality of call center services we provide.
•Retain and Expand Our Customer Base by Providing Value. The foundation of our business is to
provide unlimited, nationwide wireless services, and we design and market our products and services to
appeal to customers seeking increased value. We continually update our product and service offerings to
better meet the needs of our current customers and to attract and retain new ones, including customers
who may have previously entered into contract-based service plans with other nationwide carriers. The
new service offerings we have introduced in recent years include Muve Music®, an unlimited music
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