More carrier woes: Virgin

So we all know that Sprint is in a tough spot -- with, among other things, executives leaving right, left and center. Turns out Virgin isn't doing all that much better.

Wednesday Virgin announced that it had added 511,796 new customers in 2007 -- and that it made $1.2 billion, a 20 percent increase over 2006 revenues, making 2007 its first profitable year with $4.2 million in income.

The problem with what otherwise looks like good numbers is that Virgin underperformed analyst expectations -- particularly in the fourth quarter of 2007. Its stock price was $2.46 as of yesterday, down from its $15 IPO price in October 2007.

Meanwhile, Tracfone ("the largest US MVNO" per Ovum) grew its customer base by 711,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007 alone. It now has 9.5 million customers.

The moral of the story seems to be that competition is fierce. We thought Sprint had it bad, and it does, but it seems to take a lot in this industry to have it good. John Hadl of Brand in Hand looks to the proliferation of WiFi on handsets as yet another hurdle carriers will have to overcome. The industry is ever-changing, and the carriers are tasked with not only keeping up, but with looking ahead. Mobile marketers certainly are doing just that.