By Mike Boyer
Enquirer staff writer

Cincinnati Bell Inc. reported sharply lower second-quarter earnings as it focused on cutting debt and adding wireless and high-speed Internet customers.

For the three months ended June 30, Bell reported net income of $15 million, or 5 cents a share, down from $320 million, or $1.45 a share, a year ago including results from its former national broadband network.

The second quarter results were a penny a share better than analysts expected. Bell's shares, which have fallen by a third over the last year since the divestiture of Broadwing Communications, closed Wednesday at $3.86, up 2 cents.

Revenues declined by a third to $297 million from $450.6 million a year ago.

But the company, carrying $2.2 billion in debt from the broadband failure, said it reduced net debt $30 million.

Operating earnings at Cincinnati Bell Telephone declined 3 percent to $71 million from a year ago and revenues also declined 3 percent to $190 million.

Operating earnings at Cincinnati Bell Wireless fell $16 million from a year ago to $7 million, reflecting an $8 million increase for network depreciation and a $6 million rise in subscriber acquisition costs. Wireless revenue was down 1 percent to $67 million.

The company said it added 7,000 high-speed Internet subscribers in the quarter for a total of 117,000, up 35 percent from a year ago.

Total wire lines declined 2.1 percent from a year ago to 979,400, while total wireless subscribers increased to 495,000, up 9,000.

The company also said it added 11,000 subscribers to its Custom Connections bundle of local, long distance, wireless and broadband, increasing revenue per household by 3 percent to $77.

E-mail mboyer@enquirer .com