Leap Wireless adds long-distance bundles

Leap Wireless International—a provider of unlimited wireless minute plans—today introduced a new pricing plan that includes long-distance minutes.

“It was conditions in the marketplace that said the consumer wanted this,” said Dan Pegg, senior vice president of public affairs with Leap. “We see this as an opportunity to maintain our brand promise as well as get some lift in subscription levels.”

The majority of Leap’s competitors already bundle long-distance minutes within their pricing plans.

Leap is offering unlimited local minutes and 500 long-distance minutes for $40 per month. Leap is also trying to tap into the Hispanic population by offering 250 minutes per month to Mexico as part of its new package.

Leap added fewer-than-expected subscribers in the second quarter and cut its full-year subscriber estimate to a range of 1.7 million to 1.8 million customers from a previous estimate of at least 2 million. It ended the second quarter with 1.452 million customers, below its expectations of at least 1.5 million. Leap’s loss widened to $158.6 million, or $4.23 a share, from $128.5 million, or $3.91 a share, the previous year.

In June, Standard & Poor’s placed Leap on credit watch with negative implications based on the credit agency’s heightened concern about the company’s liquidity. The credit agency is concerned about the heightened degree of wireless competition and the limited mobility of Leap’s product, which doesn’t provide roaming outside of a caller’s area.

--Lynnette Luna, senior editor