Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) posted a $1.37 billion loss for the second quarter on Thursday. That loss was roughly 62% greater than the $847 million loss the company posted during the same period last year.

The company lost 46 cents per share during the quarter, its nineteenth consecutive quarterly loss, worse than the 41 cents per share loss that Wall Street had anticipated, the Associated Press noted.

During the quarter, revenue increased 6% to $8.84 billion. That topped the $8.72 billion that analysts had forecast.

Shares of Sprint jumped more than 12% in early Thursday morning trading.

The company plans to complete the closure of its Nextel network by the middle of next year. Company officials say they are shutting down Nextel equipment faster than expected. The network, whose acquisition has been a huge drag on the company since its 2005 purchase, is incompatible with smartphone usage.

Spectrum made available by the Nextel shutdown will augment Sprint’s data service networks.

The carrier noted that it activated 1.5 million of Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones during the quarter, flat from the first quarter. By comparison, rivals AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) both activated fewer iPhones last quarter.

Sprint is part of InvestorPlace’s Real America Index, a list of companies whose performance provides a window on the health of the U.S. economy. You can check out the list, and learn how it was compiled, by clicking here.