Metro PCS 2008 Annual Report Download - page 38

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• competitive offers by other producers.
We cannot assure you that our strategies to address customer churn will be successful. If we experience a rate of
customer churn higher than we expect or fail to replace lost customers, our revenues could decline and our costs
could increase which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our operations require continued capital expenditures and a failure to have access to capital could materially
adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our business strategy involves expanding into and competing in major metropolitan areas, all of which have
significant established competition from other providers. To compete effectively, we must continue to upgrade and
enhance our network and services. As a result, we have invested and expect to continue to invest a significant
amount of capital in the future to construct, maintain, upgrade and operate our network, billing, customer care and
information systems, to implement our business plans, including our fourth generation network, and to support
future growth of our wireless business.
Historically, we have been able to fund capital expenditures and service our debt from cash generated from our
operations and various debt and equity offerings. We may require additional capital to fund our long-term business
plan, including operating losses, network expansion, servicing of our debt and possible spectrum acquisitions. Our
success and viability will depend on our ability to maintain and increase revenues and to raise additional capital,
when and if needed, on reasonable terms. We may not be able to arrange additional financing, whether debt, equity
or otherwise, to fund our future needs on terms acceptable to us or at all. Our ability to arrange additional financing
will depend on, among other factors, our credit ratings, financial and operating performance, general economic,
financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory conditions and prevailing capital market conditions. Many of these
factors are beyond our control. Failure to obtain suitable financing when needed could, among other things, result in
our inability to continue to expand our businesses as planned or to meet competitive challenges; forego strategic
opportunities; delay and/or reduce network deployments and capital expenditures, operations, spectrum acquisitions
and investments; and restructure or refinance our indebtedness prior to maturity or sell additional equity or seek
additional debt financing. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations,
or that future borrowings, including borrowings under our senior secured credit facility, will be available to us in an
amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund our working capital and other liquidity needs, or at
all. Further, as our operations grow, it may be more difficult to adapt and modify our business plan based on the
availability of funding. If we incur significant additional indebtedness, or if we do not continue to generate
sufficient cash from our operations, our credit ratings could be adversely affected, which would likely increase our
future borrowing costs and could affect our ability to access capital.
We face intense competition from other telecommunications providers and new entrants in the marketplace.
We compete directly in each of our markets with wireless, wireline, cable, satellite, Internet and other
communications providers. Many of our current and prospective competitors are, or are affiliated with, major
companies that have substantially greater financial, technical, personnel and marketing resources than we have
(including spectrum holdings, brands and intellectual property) and a larger market share than we have, which may
affect our ability to compete successfully. These competitors often have established relationships with a larger base
of current and potential customers. These advantages may allow our competitors to offer service for lower prices,
market to broader customer segments, and offer service over larger geographic areas which may have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Some of our competitors may have, or may
in the future, take advantage of governmental programs which may allow them to offer services for lower prices,
have lower costs, or provide service in areas which may be diseconomic for us to serve without taking advantage of
such programs. If we choose not to or are unable to participate in such governmental programs and our competitors
participate, our competitors could offer services for lower prices, have lower costs, or provide service in areas which
are diseconomic for us to serve without taking advantage of such programs, which could have a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition, or operating results.
Some of our competitors in the telecommunications and related industries have undertaken joint ventures, mergers
and strategic alliances that have provided them with greater access to capital, access to wider geographic territory,
access to greater spectrum, access to technical, marketing, sales, purchasing and distribution resources and more
attractive bundles of services. Recent joint ventures, mergers and strategic alliances in the wireless industry have
resulted in, and if the trend continues, will continue to foster larger competitors over time and our operating results
could be adversely affected and our ability to grow may be hindered. Many of our competitors with greater access