Sprint-Nextel Deal Could Impact Kirkland, Wash.-Based Nextel ...
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Dec. 11--A marriage of Nextel Communications and Sprint could mean significant change for Kirkland-based Nextel Partners as well. Sprint and Nextel Communications are reportedly close to a deal that would create the third-largest US wireless carrier.
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KIRKLAND, Wash. --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 27, 2004 -- Nextel Communications, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Motorola, Inc.
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New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse has lots of choices as he&#160;takes over the ailing mobile carrier&#160;and looks for problems to start solving.Sprint, the third-biggest wireless operator in the U.S., is&#160;losing subscribers as it keeps working through the merger of Sprint and Nextel, which occurred in 2005. On Tuesday,&#160;Sprint announced Hesse is taking over immediately for Gary Forsee, who was forced out by the company&#39;s board in October. Hesse, 54, previously led Embarq, the local wireless carrier Sprint spun off as part of the Nextel deal.Sprint needs to both distinguish itself from competitors and get its own house in order, according to mobile industry analysts.&quot;They couldn&#39;t go on without someone who&#39;s willing to set a direction,&quot; said Avi Greengart of Current Analysis. Sprint could try to compete with Verizon Wireless and AT&amp;T Wireless on price, or with more flexible terms of service, or bring out more innovative devices, but it&#39;s failed so far to choose, according to Greengart.&quot;Their brand right now doesn&#39;t stand for anything,&quot; he said.One thing the Sprint name has been associated with recently is disappointing customer service. Reporting on the quarter ended Sept. 30, the company blamed accelerating customer &quot;churn&quot; to other carriers in part on longer help calls and waits for those calls. The introduction of simplified bills, expected to continue until the middle of 2008, boosted the number of those calls, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sprint also noted new handsets at rival carriers, clearly a reference to AT&amp;T&#39;s Apple iPhone.Meanwhile, thanks to about 700,000 subscribers quitting the aging Nextel network, Sprint&#39;s subscriber base as a whole declined by a net 337,000 in the quarter. The carrier said it had about 54 million subscribers on Sept. 30.What could most set Sprint apart is also its biggest gamble, the WiMax wireless broadband network it plans to build across the U.S. at an estimated cost of US$5 billion. Though the WiMax network is likely to be in place first, set to reach 100 million people by the end of 2008, Sprint&#39;s main rivals plan to have their own high-speed data offerings using a similar technology, LTE (Long-Term Evolution). And WiMax won&#39;t fix Sprint&#39;s long-overdue need to harmonize its cellular operations, currently split between CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and Nextel&#39;s older iDEN technology, Greengart said.If it goes ahead with WiMax -- interim CEO Paul Saleh said this month the business might be spun off -- Sprint will have to convince skeptical investors it&#39;s making the right move, said Yankee Group&#39;s Phil Marshall. It will also need to find a way for WiMax to truly complement the cellular business, Marshall said. So far, Sprint has painted WiMax as a mobile service distinguished from its conventional voice offerings by the promise of an any-application, any-device model. A better plan would be to push WiMax as an alternative to wired broadband that&#39;s bundled with Sprint&#39;s cellular service, Marshall said.However, in the short term, Hesse just needs to get the company to run its existing businesses better, Marshall said. Cleaning up customer service would be one key move, he added. Judging from Hesse&#39;s previous performance -- he once headed AT&amp;T Wireless -- the new CEO is qualified to do this, according to Marshall.&quot;He&#39;s very pragmatic and systematic in his management style,&quot; Marshall said.&#160;
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PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK  - Sprint Corp. is close to  an agreement to buy Nextel Communications Inc. for about $35  billion in a mostly stock deal that would combine the No. 3 and  No. 5 U.S. wireless telephone companies, sources familiar with  the situation said on Friday.
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Sprint Nextel's breakup with some customers may not be popular, but it could make financial sense.Images: Sprint's Dear John letter
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Sprint Corp. on Wednesday agreed to  buy wireless telephone company Nextel Communications Inc. in a  cash and stock deal worth about $35.17 billion to gain more  business customers and more wireless airwaves to transmit  calls.
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A possible merger of Nextel Communications, the fifth-ranked wireless carrier in the US, and Sprint, the third-largest, may be winning strategy, given the ferocious competition in the telecommunications industry.
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Nextel Communications Inc. and Sprint Corp. reached a tentative agreement to merge, a deal that would create the nation's third-biggest mobile-phone company and could bring significant changes to Nextel's Reston headquarters.
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Nextel Communications is in advanced talks to merge with the Sprint Corporation, according to executives involved in the negotiations.
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* Sprint&#39;s strong wireless Internet service and Nextel&#39;s walkie- talkie feature popular among mobile professionals would be a competitive combination.
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PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK  - Sprint Corp. is in  advanced talks to buy Nextel Communications Inc. for more than  $36 billion in a mostly stock deal that would combine the No. 3  and No. 5 U.S. wireless service carriers, sources familiar with  the situation said on Friday.
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Nextel Communications and Sprint are negotiating a possible merger, according to a source familiar with the discussions. It was not clear how far the talks had progressed, and
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DECEMBER 20, 2004  - Last week&#39;s merger deal between Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. continues a consolidation trend among wireless carriers that could help lower prices and bolster
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The prospect of a deal between Sprint  and Nextel Communications sparked concerns on Friday about a  shrinking U.S. market for mobile network equipment, sending  shares of Nextel's key supplier Motorola Inc. MOT.N down  almost 8 percent.
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Sprint Corp and Nextel Communications have tentatively agreed on key terms in a $US35 billion ($47billion) merger deal that would create a giant mobile phone carrier with nearly 39 million subscribers.
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Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. on Wednesday announced plans to merge, creating a more formidable rival to the two largest US mobile operators, and a large wireline communications company supporting
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The $35 billion merger of Sprint and Nextel announced Wednesday may make consumers jittery about rising prices in a consolidating industry, but experts say the remaining players will still wage a tough fight for every customer.