MetroPCS reports 3Q subscriber data

US mobile carrier MetroPCS Communications said yesterday its added 671,000 gross subscriber additions in the three months to 30 September, up 16.6% year-on-year and up 1.7% on the previous quarter, although the gains were partly offset by a rise in subscriber churn. The cellco said its churn rates in the third quarter were up 0.2 of a percentage point y-o-y and 0.4 higher than the previous quarter, to 5.2%, as an increasing number of its subscribers defected to rival service providers. At the end of September MetroPCS had approximately 3.66 million subscribers, a net gain of about 114,000 subscribers.