On the heels of the original announcement from February 23rd, Leap Wireless and Pocket Communications announced they have formed a Leap-controlled and managed joint venture that provides mobile communications services through Leap’s Cricket brand to customers in the South Texas region. From San Antonio to Laredo and in the Rio Grande Valley, there are more than 4.4 million potential customers for Cricket in the region.
Through its Cricket brand, Leap offers unlimited, pre-paid mobile voice, text and Web, as well as mobile broadband services. The company had approximately 5.3 million customers across the nation at the end of Q2 2010, including about 430,000 in the South Texas region. Pocket Communications, which offered similar unlimited pre-paid services, had approximately 340,000 customers in the South Texas region at the end of the same period.
By combining Pocket with Cricket’s existing base, Cricket scored about 18% of the wireless market in the region.
In terms of ownership structure, Leap owns approximately 76% of the joint venture, while Pocket Communications owns about 24%.