- Company Reports Approximately 230,000 Net Customer Additions and 30% Adjusted OIBDA Margin, up from 23% in Prior Year Period -

Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless communications services, today reported financial and subscriber results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. For the quarter, the Company achieved year-over-year improvements in service revenues, operating income, and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA), reflecting significant financial contributions from the Company’s existing markets (defined as markets in operation at the end of 2007), offset by negative OIBDA associated with the Company’s new initiatives, which include new market launch activity and the expansion of its mobile broadband product offering.

“The Company had a successful first quarter as the momentum in customer growth we experienced in the fourth quarter continued into 2008 and helped deliver 230,000 net customer additions spread broadly across our business,” said Doug Hutcheson, Leap’s CEO, president and acting CFO. “We are also pleased with the $135.0 million of adjusted OIBDA generated by our existing markets in the first quarter, an increase of 80 percent over the prior year quarter, even while we continued to absorb costs associated with our expansion activities. Our consolidated adjusted OIBDA results reflect $16.3 million of spending for our new initiatives, including our plans to launch approximately 8 million additional covered POPs by mid-2008, which includes the markets we recently launched in Oklahoma and Texas, and our plans to expand our mobile broadband product offering following the successful introduction of our EvDO Rev A tri-band USB broadband device. We are pleased with the significant progress we are making with both of these new initiatives.”

Updated Business Outlook

The Company updated its previously announced business expansion outlook to reflect its current plans for AWS market launches and planned investments to expand its mobile broadband initiative.

* With its planned launches of AWS markets and coverage expansion in existing markets, the Company expects to increase its network coverage from January 1, 2008 by approximately 8 million additional POPs by the end of the second quarter of 2008, up to 36 million additional POPs by the first half of 2009, and up to 50 million additional POPs by the end of 2010.
* Aggregate capital expenditures for the build-out of new markets through their first full year of operation following commercial launch are anticipated to be approximately $26 per covered POP, excluding capitalized interest.
* Aggregate investment in cumulative OIBDA loss in these markets through adjusted OIBDA break-even is expected to be approximately $5 per covered POP. The Company’s new AWS markets are generally expected to reach OIBDA break-even within four full quarters of commercial operation.
* Annual capital expenditures to support the on-going growth and development of the Company’s markets in commercial operation for one year or more are expected to be in the mid-teens as a percentage of service revenue. This estimate does not include the costs of any significant footprint expansion in our existing markets.
* Total Company adjusted OIBDA is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 30 to 40 percent from 2007 through 2010.
* With the expansion of the Company’s mobile broadband initiative beyond the trial phase, the Company expects to cover approximately 13.5 million total POPs with approximately 10 thousand total subscribers by the end of the second quarter of 2008. Mobile broadband penetration after the first year of operation following commercial launch is expected to be approximately 0.5 percent.
* Aggregate investment in cumulative OIBDA loss for the mobile broadband initiative through OIBDA break-even is expected to be approximately $0.50 per covered POP or less. Broadband activity in the launched markets is generally expected to reach OIBDA break-even within three full quarters of commercial operation. The Company’s expectation for cumulative OIBDA loss excludes approximately $6 million per quarter of EvDO-related fixed costs associated with our new initiatives through 2008.

About Leap

Leap provides innovative, high-value wireless services to a fast-growing, young and ethnically diverse customer base. With the value of unlimited wireless services as the foundation of its business, Leap pioneered its Cricket® service. The Company and its joint ventures now operate in 23 states and hold licenses in 35 of the top 50 U.S. markets. Through its affordable, flat-rate service plans, Cricket offers customers a choice of unlimited voice, text, data and mobile Web services. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Leap is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “LEAP.”

For more information, visit http://investor.leapwireless.com.