Sprint Adds Customers as It Pushes T-Mobile Merger

Country’s No. 4 wireless carrier keeps pace with bigger rivals amid regulatory review of T-Mobile deal

Now T-Mobile has agreed to buy Sprint, the U.S. wireless industry is about to be dominated by three major players. But how did we go from the days of one giant landline monopoly to four competitive cell companies? Illustration: Shaumbe Wright/WSJ
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Sprint Corp. added to its subscriber base in its most recent quarter as the country’s No. 4 wireless carrier continued its efforts to persuade regulators to bless its merger with T-Mobile US Inc.

The company added 87,000 net postpaid phone subscribers in the three months to the end of June, more than the prior quarter, but comparable to what it added in the same quarter a year earlier. Those customers pay bills monthly under longer-term contracts and are considered the most profitable by wireless carriers because they provide...