NEW YORK -- Amp'd Mobile was set to report today that it finished 2006 with more than 100,000 subscribers. The youth-oriented, entertainment-heavy cellphone service signed up roughly 70,000 people in the fourth quarter.
The company, whose backers include
The subscriber total and the revenue figures are in line with comments and forecasts made by Amp'd two months ago, though in September the company indicated it might have 150,000 subscribers by year's end.
"I don't think many people thought we'd get to 100,000," said Peter Adderton, chief executive, who estimated the subscriber base has expanded beyond 110,000 in the new year.
Most of the rivals for Amp'd generate $50 to $60 a month in revenue per customer, with less than $10 of that coming from nonvoice services.
Yet Amp'd has a way to go before reaching profitability. In October, management said the company will turn an operating profit by late 2008, when it would have more than 700,000 customers if its current projection of 25,000 new subscribers a month holds true.
Amp'd is a so-called virtual cellular provider, which means it doesn't own a network. Instead, it pays other carriers to provide the wireless signal to its phones.