Jul 30, 2002 12:00 PM,

Wireless drives CT’s growth

Vince Vittore

A $2.9 million jump in wireless revenues and a $1.3 increase in CLEC revenues helped CT Communications overcome a small decrease in core access lines during the second quarter.

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Overall, the company reported consolidated revenues of $37.4 million in the quarter, a $5.7 million increase from the second quarter of 2001. The company’s Concord Telephone unit reported revenues of $24 million and operating EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization) of $12.8 million.

However, the ILEC group also reported a loss of 490 access lines from the first quarter, ending the second quarter with 123,321 lines. Most of the loss was attributable to customers signing up for high-speed Internet access services. However, a downturn in general economic conditions also had an effect.

“The general economy, in particular textiles, has had an adverse effect on some Concord communities,” Barry Rubens, senior vice president, said during a conference call this morning. The company is also forecasting zero line growth for its ILEC unit for the rest of the year.

More positive news came from the company’s wireless unit, which had an 87% increase in revenues from the second quarter of 2001 to $6.1 million. The growth was primarily due to the partitioning of the Cingular network in 2001 and subscriber growth. The group, CTC Wireless, ended the second quarter with 32,102 post-pay wireless customers, a 65% increase over the second quarter of 2001.

Going forward, the company is projecting third quarter wireless revenue in a range of $6.2 million to $6.5 million, with between 1000 and 1100 gross additional customers.

During the second quarter, CT also began cutting back on its Wavetel operations, which provides services via MMDS. The group, which had operating expenses of $1.4 million in the second quarter, was hurt by a number of factors, Rubens said.

“Vendors in broadband wireless are near non-existent and the marketplace in Fayetteville has been experiencing severe impact due to military deployments out of that market,” he said. “By the end of this year, we’ll have to make some decisions.”