There’s room for two prepaid carriers in Las Vegas, Leap Wireless...

There’s room for two prepaid carriers in Las Vegas, Leap Wireless CEO Doug Hutcheson said Tuesday at a Morgan Stanley conference in Washington, D.C. Leap rival MetroPCS already has footing in the market, but Leap’s entry should enlarge the pie, not split it, Hutcheson said. Meanwhile, the economic slowdown has created a consumer “flight to value” that has benefitted Leap this year, Hutcheson said. The carrier struggled against economic “headwind” in the second half of last year, but has been doing better since Black Friday, he said. Leap released upbeat Q1 results last week (CD May 12 p6). Asked about a potential merger with MetroPCS, Hutcheson stuck to the script. A combination makes sense, but it’s not a discussion that will happen in public, he said.