T-Mobile just added millions of new subscribers. Can Sprint keep up?

The race between T-Mobile and Sprint for the title of third-largest cell service provider is getting ever closer. Soon, we might look back on this moment as the one where T-Mobile finally overtook Sprint. T-Mobile said it added 2.1 million customers to its rolls in the second quarter. That brings its total subscriber base to 58.9 million. While we're still waiting for Sprint to disclose its latest figures, a look at its previous reports show that the company will need to add a net 1.8 million subscribers to break even with T-Mobile. As of March 31, Sprint's subscriber base totaled some 57.1 million, putting it roughly 300,000 subscribers ahead of T-Mobile.

T-Mobile's latest gains blow that gap out of the water, but without knowing how many customers Sprint has added since April, it's hard to say whether T-Mobile has really pulled ahead. Sprint has lately been adding new subscribers at a rapid clip as well. Sprint declined to comment on its current subscriber figures, saying it would release those numbers with its earnings report in a few weeks.