Sprint Nextel
Encyclopedia
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas
. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless
telecommunications network
in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless
and AT&T Mobility. Sprint Nextel also owns a separate wireless division, Sprint Prepaid Group which offers prepay wireless services as Boost Mobile
and Virgin Mobile USA
.
Sprint is a global Internet carrier
and makes up a portion of the Internet backbone
. In the United States, the company is the third largest long distance provider and also owns a majority of Clearwire
, which operates the largest wireless broadband network.
The company was renamed in 2005 with the purchase of Nextel Communications
by Sprint Corporation. The company continues to operate using two separate wireless network technologies, CDMA and iDEN
(for Nextel and some Boost Mobile
subscribers). In 2006, the company spun off its local landline telephone business, naming it Embarq
(which was subsequently acquired by CenturyTel). In 2009, Sprint reached an agreement to outsource management of its wireless networks to Ericsson
.
Sprint Nextel launched its first WiMAX
wireless card on December 21, 2008 (the Franklin Wireless u300 broadband card), and the first WiMAX phone available in the United States (the HTC Evo 4G
) on June 4, 2010, utilizing its WiMAX technology from Clearwire
Corp. A recent Consumer Reports
survey tied Sprint with perennial front-runner Verizon Wireless
in terms of customer satisfaction, a big improvement over previous years.
. The Browns installed their first long-distance circuit in 1900, and chartered their own company in October 1902.
In March 1903, they joined with 14 other Kansas independents to incorporate the Union Telephone and Telegraph Company, which would provide long-distance service to Kansas City.
In September 1911, C.L. Brown consolidated the Brown Telephone Company with three other independents to form a new alliance and the second largest telephone company in Kansas, the United Telephone Company, which controlled seven major telephone exchanges.
UT&E was dissolved, and its assets placed under the new company, United Utilities, Incorporated. Later, when Paul H. Henson became president of United Utilities in 1964, he almost immediately reorganized the company in accordance with C.L. Brown’s belief that centralizing some of the company’s functions would result in greater efficiency, cost reductions, and growth.
data service, Uninet. To enter the long-distance voice market, United Telecom acquired ISACOMM
in 1981 and US Telephone in 1984. In 1983 United Telecom began offering cellular telephone services in their territories under the brand name Telespectrum.
, began providing long-distance telephone service after the Execunet II decision late in 1978. SPC was headquartered in Burlingame, California
, where Sprint still maintains a technology laboratory, on Adrian Court.
The Railroad had an extensive microwave communications system along its rights of way
used for internal communications; later, after the Execunet II decision, they expanded by laying fiber optic cables along the same rights of way. In 1972 they began selling surplus capacity on that system to corporations for use as private lines, thereby circumventing AT&T
's then-monopoly on public telephony. Prior attempts at offering long distance voice services had not been approved by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), although a fax
service (called SpeedFAX) was permitted.
As mentioned, SPC was only permitted to provide private lines, not switched services. When MCI Communications
released Execunet, SPC took the FCC to court to get the right to offer switched services, and succeeded (the "Execunet II" decision). They decided they needed a new name to differentiate the switched voice service from SpeedFAX, and ran an internal contest to select one. The winning entry was "Sprint", an acronym for Switched PRIvate Network Telecommunications.
The Sprint service was first marketed to six metropolitan areas: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Diego and Anaheim, California. The switches were located in Los Angeles and New York. A customer was required to have a private line connection to one of these switches in order to use the service and paid an access fee per private line. Access was also available by dialing an access number to connect to the SPRINT switch. The customer was then billed at 2.6 cents per tenth of a minute increment.
In 1982 SPC and GTE
entered into merger negotiations and in 1983 emerged under the name "GTE Sprint". GTE had previously acquired a national X.25
provider, Telenet
, in 1979.
In 1986, GTE Sprint and Telenet were merged with the United Telecom properties US Telecom, Uninet and ISACOMM, to form US Sprint. Initially this was a joint venture co-owned by GTE and United. Then in 1988 United sold Telespectrum to Centel
to fund the purchase of an additional 30% of US Sprint. This purchase gave United operational control of US Sprint.
In 1989 United Telecom purchased a controlling interest, and in 1991 completed its acquisition of US Sprint. The next year, in 1992, United Telecommunications adopts the nationally recognized identity of its long distance unit, changing its name to Sprint Corporation, due in large part to the increased brand recognition as a result of the successful Candice Bergen
"Dime Lady" advertisement campaign.
, which allowed them to provide local service in a total of 18 states and put them back in the wireless market. In 1994, Sprint spun off their existing cellular operations as 360 Communications for regulatory reasons, in order to start a new service in the PCS
band. In 1998 360 Communications was acquired by Alltel
, which was in turn acquired by Verizon in 2009.
In late 1994 and early 1995 Sprint acquired near nationwide 1900Mhz PCS spectrum, via Sprint Spectrum–APC (a joint venture between Sprint and several cable companies). Later in 1995, the company began to offer wireless service under the Sprint Spectrum brand in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area
. This was the first commercial PCS network in the United States. Although the current Sprint PCS service is CDMA
, the original Washington-area network used GSM. Eventually Sprint launched their new nationwide CDMA network, then in 1999 sold the decommissioned GSM infrastructure to Omnipoint which re-launched in May 2000. Omnipoint was later acquired by VoiceStream Wireless, which eventually became part of T-Mobile USA
.
, and in 1997 Sprint stores opened at RadioShack to offer their communications services and products through RadioShack Stores across the United States. Since then, over 20 million Sprint cell phones have been sold via the RadioShack outlets. RadioShack was one of the first retailers to offer Sprint services and an all-digital nationwide network for its customers.
On October 5, 1999, Sprint and MCI WorldCom announced a $129 billion merger agreement between the two companies. The deal would have been the largest corporate merger in history at the time. However, the deal did not go through because of pressure from the United States Department of Justice
and the European Union
on concerns of it creating a monopoly.
In 2003, Sprint began recombining their local telecom, long distance, wireline, and wireless business units into a new company, in an initiative known internally as "One Sprint." In April 2004, the separately traded wireless tracking stock
, "PCS," was absorbed into the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) "FON" ticker symbol, Sprint's former ticker symbol. (FON stood for "Fiber Optic Network," but was also a homophone of the word "phone"). This was challenged in many lawsuits by Sprint PCS shareholders who felt robbed because their stock was devalued through the ratio of 1 share of PCS stock for 1/2 share of FON stock. The PCS shareholders claimed a loss of 1.3 billion to 3.4 billion dollars.
became a significant investor in the company. U.S. Senator and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner
was one of the early investors. Daniel Akerson
served as CEO of Nextel for part of his career. Tim Donahue replaced Akerson as CEO in 1998.
). At the time of the merger announcement Sprint and NEXTEL were the No. 3 and No. 5 leading providers in the U.S. mobile phone industry.
Sprint shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger on July 13, 2005. The merger deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and U.S. Department of Justice on August 3, 2005. The FCC placed a condition on the merger that Sprint Nextel is to provide wireless service within the 2.5 GHz band within the next four years. Sprint Nextel was officially formed on August 12, 2005, when the deal was completed.
Sprint and NEXTEL both faced opposition to the merger, mostly from regional affiliates that provide wireless services on behalf of the companies. These regional affiliates felt that the new company would be violating non-compete agreements that the former companies had made with the affiliates.
Since the merger Nextel Customers are now able to convert their plans to the Sprint side, and Sprint Customers can convert their accounts to the Nextel side. Both changes would require purchasing new phone equipment.
On September 1, 2005, Sprint Nextel combined plan offerings of its Sprint and Nextel brands to bring more uniformity across the company's offerings.
In addition to the U.S. market, Nextel has licensed its identity to NII Holdings, Inc., a holding company of which Sprint Nextel owns 18%. They have used the Nextel brand to set up networks in many Latin American countries.
The integration process was difficult in that top Nextel Executives began leaving the company immediately after the merger closed. Tim Donahue, Nextel CEO, stayed on as executive chairman, but ceded decision-making authority to Forsee. Tom Kelly, COO of Nextel, took an interim staff position as Chief Strategy Officer. Two years after the merger, only a few key Nextel executives remained, with many former Nextel middle- and upper-level managers having left while citing reasons including unbridgeable cultural difference between the two companies.
Sprint's acquisition of Nextel ultimately was a disaster from a fiscal standpoint – in 2008, the company wrote down
$29.7 billion of the $36 billion sum it had paid for Nextel in 2005, wiping out 80% of the value of Nextel at the time it had been acquired. The write down reflected the depreciation in Nextel's goodwill
since the date of acquisition.
After moving its world headquarters to Reston, Virginia
after the Nextel merger, Sprint reconsolidated its world headquarters and operational headquarters back to Overland Park, Kansas
. The move was widely regarded as a strategy to help the company reorganize and become more efficient.
presence with the help of affiliates. These smaller companies, in agreement with Sprint, build network infrastructure as well as operate retail stores. In exchange, the smaller companies receive usage of Sprint's brand, radio spectrum, customer service and billing. In most cases, these affiliate carriers are transparent to the end user or consumer. This has also given Sprint a unique advantage over other carriers, in that their entire network was built for Sprint. Other national carriers coverage areas are made up of merged and acquired networks, which can cause inconsistent network harmony and other related problems.
models are branded as Sprint phones with Nextel Direct Connect service.
services under its Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, payLo by Virgin Mobile and Assurance Wireless brands.
only), messaging and data on no-contract monthly plans. It also offers a pay as you go plan. The plan, called "Shrinkage," lowers the monthly amount due for consistent and timely payment. Its service is aimed at 'budget minded' consumers.
service, with no contract required. The network has about 6 million subscribers. Virgin Mobile targets young consumers. Virgin Mobile USA also offers pay as you go options under its payLo by Virgin Mobile brand.
's Universal Service Fund
program. The program offers a free wireless phone and 250 free local and domestic long distance voice minutes per month to eligible low-income customers.
End users do not receive a bill, are not required to sign a contract and do not pay activation fees, recurring fees or surcharges. Text messaging is not included with the 200 free voice minutes, unlike TracFone's competing SafeLink program. In addition to the free services customers receive, they may add on additional minutes, text messaging service and international long distance via pre-payment using a credit card, debit card, Virgin Mobile top up card or PayPal.
, Assurance Wireless service is available to qualifying residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
CDMA Partners (SRA Members): Alaska DigiTel in Alaska; Alltel Wireless in Montana; NTelos in West Virginia, and western Virginia; NexTech Wireless in Kansas, and part of Colorado; Pioneer Cellular in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Sprint Affiliates are those carriers who use the Sprint name to offer their services yet operate their own network and use Sprint SIDs
.
Sprint Partners are those carriers who use their own equipment and also sell their own service. In addition to allowing Sprint to use their equipment, they allow Sprint to hold their license(s) in that area.
Sprint Partners is known as "Sprint Rural Alliance" (SRA).
network is used and operated for walkie-talkie
or "Direct Connect" push-to-talk phones. Nextel is currently offered as a sub-brand under Sprint. It utilizes small 800–900 MHz frequency bands. Sprint's prepay division Boost Mobile
also utilizes their iDEN network.
technology and strengthening the CDMA network.
As the shifting to more broadband-centric PTT applications on the CDMA network occurs, it is expected that iDEN cell sites will be phased out. This phase out is expected to begin in 2013.
& 3G
wireless network, using the 1xRTT/EVDO
standard, which is part of the Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA) standard. In 2006, Sprint's EV-DO Power Vision network reached more than 190 Million people. Sprint had announced plans to continue upgrading their 3G EV-DO network, until it reaches 260 million people in 2007. Not all of Sprint's network has been upgraded to 3G, with several places like Shreveport, LA and Tupelo, MS still lacking 3G.
Sprint's EV-DO (Power Vision) data options include Sprint TV, Sprint Radio (both specialized and local radio) Stations, Sprint Music Store, Sprint On-Demand, unlimited Web access, video and picture mail, wireless chat and games. It is currently being offered in 43 states in the United States.
Data Fees
Sprint's Vision data access starts at $15 a month for regular phones and PDA phones on the CDMA network ($10 on IDEN for regular phones). The most expensive data package was the "Phone as Modem" plan, which required a $40.00 data pro pack plus $15.00 for Phone as Modem, and allowed customers to tether their phone to a computer for use as a wireless modem. While at one point this attachable could be added to any price plan, it is currently restricted from all Everything Messaging, Everything Data, and Simply Everything price plans. Everything Data and Simply Everything include Unlimited Phone-Based Data in their plan price, where Everything Messaging covers data use for SMS/MMS use only. Unlike Verizon's EV-DO offering, Sprint's Power Vision content is available in areas without EV-DO coverage, albeit at the lower speeds of the 1xRTT network. CDMA 1x data speeds can reach 144 kbit/s, while EV-DO currently has bursts of up to 3.1 Mbit/s.
agreed on a new Nationwide Roaming partnership. The new roaming agreement is for both voice, 1x & EV-DO data roaming coverage. This new partnership is different from voice only roaming agreement between Alltel & Verizon Wireless
in that it is reciprocal, giving Alltel customers access to Sprint 1x & EV-DO network, and Sprint customers access to Alltel denser rural 1x & EV-DO voice and data coverage. This agreement represents the first of its kind between U.S. wireless carriers. Although Alltel merged with Verizon Wireless in 2008, one of the conditions of the merger was that Verizon will honor all pre-existing agreements between Alltel and other companies. The roaming reciprocity agreement between Alltel and Sprint is set to expire in 2016.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless have a reciprocal data roaming agreement that even allows for the use of Sprint Power Vision content like TV, movie downloads, and stream radio in Verizon 1x coverage areas.
Sprint and US Cellular have a 1xRTT data and voice roaming agreement.
s. Allowing other wireless carriers to utilize Sprint's Network. Sprint's prepaid brands operate on both Sprint CDMA and the iDEN
(only Boost Mobile
) networks; however, they are not an MVNO, but rather wholly owned prepaid divisions of Sprint Nextel.
, a unit of Cisco Systems
. This unit allows Sprint customers to set up a special in home or office computer network connecting multiple computers or laptops wirelessly to Sprint's PowerVision network. This broadband service to the Internet will allow some customers to have broadband without having to pay for telephone service, as some U.S.-based telephone companies like Verizon Communications
make it difficult for customers to purchase only ADSL (Broadband) services without also purchasing the separate telephone service. The PowerVision router may be one avenue to bypass the local telephone and cable broadband service providers in being provided with Broadband to the home. Such Broadband offerings to the home or office without cable or DSL means the router could be used to provision cheaper VoIP services through Sprint's High Speed network.
, which will allow customers to access cable broadband-like speeds wirelessly. The rollout is expected to reach 100 metropolitan areas and 120 million people by the end of 2010. Sprint expects to spend over 3 billion dollars upgrading the existing network to WiMAX technology, called Xohm
. Motorola, Nokia and Samsung have expressed interest in developing dual CDMA and WiMAX phones, allowing customers to utilize both networks. More recently, Google and Sprint announced a formal partnership in deploying WiMAX technology, with Google providing search content along with Sprint.
On May 7, 2008, Sprint Nextel announced it would merge its WiMAX
wireless broadband unit with Clearwire
, combining Sprint's Xohm
service with the Clearwire broadband network. Sprint will own a simple majority of the resulting company, with current Clearwire shareholders owning just over a quarter. A consortium of Comcast
, Time Warner Cable
, Intel, Google
, and Bright House
will invest $3.2 billion and own the balance. The new firm will be called "Clear". Both Sprint and Clear will run off of and have the same network. Whether Sprint will be a "MVNO" on Clear's 4G network or have it considered Sprint's native network, since it owns a majority of Clear, is unknown.
On October 8, 2008, Sprint launched WiMax in Baltimore and showed off several new laptops that will have embedded WiMax chips. And they announced that Sprint will be offering dual-mode 3G/'4G' products by the end of the year. Baltimore is the first city to get Xohm
, but it is expected to launch soon in more cities, such as Chicago and Philadelphia.
On January 6, 2009, Clearwire launched WiMax in Portland under the Clear brand name. And on June 12, 2009, the CLEAR brand was launched across the entire Atlanta metropolitan area – by far the largest of CLEAR's 4G markets by land area.
On March 23, 2010, Sprint and HTC announced at a CTIA trade show that they would be releasing the HTC EVO 4G
, the first 4G phone in the United States. The phone was available June 4, 2010, ahead of competitors' planned releases for 4G phones.
On April 19, 2011, Sprint announced an agreement with Clearwire to pay at least $1 billion to use Clearwire's 4G WiMax network through 2012.
.
On October 7, 2011, Sprint Nextel announced at the Sprint Strategy Update conference their initial LTE deployment plans. Initial deployments of LTE began on October 27, 2011 by Network Vision-partner Samsung
in Chicago, along with LTE devices available in Mid-2012. LTE is expected to cover 123 million people in 2012 and over 250 million people by end of 2013. Sprint will initially deploy LTE in the 1900 MHz 'G' block and over time will add LTE to its 1900 MHz A-G blocks and to its 800 MHz ESMR band. Sprint will also attempt to leverage LightSquared
LTE at the 1600 MHz band pending FCC approval as well as wholesale Clearwire
LTE at the 2500 MHz band if a deal can be made.
Internet service provider network, operating an OC-192 Internet backbone
. Customers include large multinational corporations, retail and restaurant chains, Tier 2 and Tier 3 ISPs, and medium-to-small businesses. SprintLink has physical presence in the United States, Western Europe, East Asia, Australia, and India. The network wraps all the way around the world with buried fiber optics in the United States and Europe, and undersea fiber in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. SprintLink is the party responsible for cable maintenance and administration in the TAT-14 Consortium
. Sprint is currently in the process of upgrading their SprintLink core to OC-768 lines to offer increased bandwidth.
Global Wholesale and U.S. Wholesale awards in 2011 than any other telecommunications carrier. The company cited global wins in Brand and Voice Value, and domestic wins in Brand, Provisioning, Network and Customer Service.
and Alltel
, i.e., "Get It Now", "Media Center" and "Axcess," respectively, have chosen to use the BREW
interface on their phones, Sprint has opted to use the more widespread Java
interface for their phone's application support. This allows for the use of Third-Party software applications.
to their phone account as opposed to only being able to use a credit card through Google Checkout.
on October 4, 2011, Apple Inc. announced that Sprint will begin carrying the iPhone 4
and iPhone 4S. The iPhone 3GS will not be supported as it is GSM only and is not compatible with Sprint's CDMA/EVDO network.
Below are companies which Sprint Nextel has agreed to or has already acquired:
that runs on Sprint's data network. The device offers fans access to "Race telecast and up to seven in-car camera channels, direct audio feeds allowing the user to listen to live driver and team conversations, as well as the radio broadcast and an exclusive audio-replay feature."
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
telecommunications network
Telecommunications network
A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...
in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
and AT&T Mobility. Sprint Nextel also owns a separate wireless division, Sprint Prepaid Group which offers prepay wireless services as Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
and Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. is a wireless communications services provider based in Warren, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 2001 as a mobile virtual network operator, Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. commenced operations under the Virgin Mobile brand in June, 2002...
.
Sprint is a global Internet carrier
Tier 1 network
A tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol network that participates in the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection, also known as settlement-free peering.-Definition:...
and makes up a portion of the Internet backbone
Internet backbone
The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers in the Internet...
. In the United States, the company is the third largest long distance provider and also owns a majority of Clearwire
Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation is a wireless internet service provider serving markets in the United States, Belgium, and Spain...
, which operates the largest wireless broadband network.
The company was renamed in 2005 with the purchase of Nextel Communications
Nextel Communications
Nextel Communications, commonly styled NEXTEL and formerly traded on the NASDAQ as NXTL, now a part of the Sprint Nextel Corporation, was a United States telecommunications firm operating a nationwide push to talk mobile communications system. Unlike other mobile networks, the Nextel network...
by Sprint Corporation. The company continues to operate using two separate wireless network technologies, CDMA and iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
(for Nextel and some Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
subscribers). In 2006, the company spun off its local landline telephone business, naming it Embarq
Embarq
Embarq Corporation was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States , serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers...
(which was subsequently acquired by CenturyTel). In 2009, Sprint reached an agreement to outsource management of its wireless networks to Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
.
Sprint Nextel launched its first WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
wireless card on December 21, 2008 (the Franklin Wireless u300 broadband card), and the first WiMAX phone available in the United States (the HTC Evo 4G
HTC Evo 4G
The HTC Evo 4G is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX network...
) on June 4, 2010, utilizing its WiMAX technology from Clearwire
Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation is a wireless internet service provider serving markets in the United States, Belgium, and Spain...
Corp. A recent Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides...
survey tied Sprint with perennial front-runner Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
in terms of customer satisfaction, a big improvement over previous years.
Early history
Sprint Nextel traces its origins to the Brown Telephone Company, which was founded in 1899, by C.L. Brown and Jacob Brown, to deploy telephone service to the rural area around AbileneAbilene, Kansas
Abilene is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,844.-History:...
. The Browns installed their first long-distance circuit in 1900, and chartered their own company in October 1902.
In March 1903, they joined with 14 other Kansas independents to incorporate the Union Telephone and Telegraph Company, which would provide long-distance service to Kansas City.
In September 1911, C.L. Brown consolidated the Brown Telephone Company with three other independents to form a new alliance and the second largest telephone company in Kansas, the United Telephone Company, which controlled seven major telephone exchanges.
Depression, bankruptcy and reorganization
Brown formed United Telephone and Electric (UT&E) in 1925 in order to purchase stock in subsidiary companies across widely scattered geographical areas, eventually controlling more than 68 other companies. More than two-thirds of these were telephone companies. The Great Depression caused more than three million telephone subscribers to give up their phone service between 1931 and 1933. Consequently, UT&E suffered severe financial strain and had to seek protection to reorganize under the bankruptcy laws. All but six of its 85 companies, all battered by hard times, survived and some were showing profits again in 1936. During the reorganization, a number of companies were merged and later phased out. The reorganization plan received final approval in late 1937.UT&E was dissolved, and its assets placed under the new company, United Utilities, Incorporated. Later, when Paul H. Henson became president of United Utilities in 1964, he almost immediately reorganized the company in accordance with C.L. Brown’s belief that centralizing some of the company’s functions would result in greater efficiency, cost reductions, and growth.
United Telecommunications (United Telecom)
In 1972, United Utilities changed its name to United Telecommunications, known as United Telecom for short. In 1980 United Telecom launched a national X.25X.25
X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet switched wide area network communication. An X.25 WAN consists of packet-switching exchange nodes as the networking hardware, and leased lines, Plain old telephone service connections or ISDN connections as physical links...
data service, Uninet. To enter the long-distance voice market, United Telecom acquired ISACOMM
ISACOMM
ISA Communications Services, Inc. was a long-distance telephone company headquartered in Atlanta. It was the first telephone company to offer a virtual network service to corporations and the first to offer codec-based videoconferencing services...
in 1981 and US Telephone in 1984. In 1983 United Telecom began offering cellular telephone services in their territories under the brand name Telespectrum.
GTE Sprint
Southern Pacific Communications Company (SPC), a unit of the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
, began providing long-distance telephone service after the Execunet II decision late in 1978. SPC was headquartered in Burlingame, California
Burlingame, California
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...
, where Sprint still maintains a technology laboratory, on Adrian Court.
The Railroad had an extensive microwave communications system along its rights of way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
used for internal communications; later, after the Execunet II decision, they expanded by laying fiber optic cables along the same rights of way. In 1972 they began selling surplus capacity on that system to corporations for use as private lines, thereby circumventing AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
's then-monopoly on public telephony. Prior attempts at offering long distance voice services had not been approved by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC), although a fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
service (called SpeedFAX) was permitted.
As mentioned, SPC was only permitted to provide private lines, not switched services. When MCI Communications
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
released Execunet, SPC took the FCC to court to get the right to offer switched services, and succeeded (the "Execunet II" decision). They decided they needed a new name to differentiate the switched voice service from SpeedFAX, and ran an internal contest to select one. The winning entry was "Sprint", an acronym for Switched PRIvate Network Telecommunications.
The Sprint service was first marketed to six metropolitan areas: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Diego and Anaheim, California. The switches were located in Los Angeles and New York. A customer was required to have a private line connection to one of these switches in order to use the service and paid an access fee per private line. Access was also available by dialing an access number to connect to the SPRINT switch. The customer was then billed at 2.6 cents per tenth of a minute increment.
In 1982 SPC and GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
entered into merger negotiations and in 1983 emerged under the name "GTE Sprint". GTE had previously acquired a national X.25
X.25
X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet switched wide area network communication. An X.25 WAN consists of packet-switching exchange nodes as the networking hardware, and leased lines, Plain old telephone service connections or ISDN connections as physical links...
provider, Telenet
Telenet
Telenet was a commercial packet switched network which went into service in 1974. It was the first packet-switched network service that was available to the general public. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lines connecting their computers and local...
, in 1979.
Consolidation and re-branding to Sprint Corporation
Centel
Centel Corporation was an American telecommunications company, with primary interests in providing basic telephone service, cellular phone service and cable television service. It was founded in 1900 as an electric company....
to fund the purchase of an additional 30% of US Sprint. This purchase gave United operational control of US Sprint.
In 1989 United Telecom purchased a controlling interest, and in 1991 completed its acquisition of US Sprint. The next year, in 1992, United Telecommunications adopts the nationally recognized identity of its long distance unit, changing its name to Sprint Corporation, due in large part to the increased brand recognition as a result of the successful Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
"Dime Lady" advertisement campaign.
Return to wireless
In 1995, Sprint acquired CentelCentel
Centel Corporation was an American telecommunications company, with primary interests in providing basic telephone service, cellular phone service and cable television service. It was founded in 1900 as an electric company....
, which allowed them to provide local service in a total of 18 states and put them back in the wireless market. In 1994, Sprint spun off their existing cellular operations as 360 Communications for regulatory reasons, in order to start a new service in the PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
band. In 1998 360 Communications was acquired by Alltel
Alltel
Alltel Corporation is a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before an acquisition by Verizon Wireless, it served 34 states. After the merger, Alltel continues to serve six states, mostly in rural areas...
, which was in turn acquired by Verizon in 2009.
In late 1994 and early 1995 Sprint acquired near nationwide 1900Mhz PCS spectrum, via Sprint Spectrum–APC (a joint venture between Sprint and several cable companies). Later in 1995, the company began to offer wireless service under the Sprint Spectrum brand in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...
. This was the first commercial PCS network in the United States. Although the current Sprint PCS service is CDMA
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
, the original Washington-area network used GSM. Eventually Sprint launched their new nationwide CDMA network, then in 1999 sold the decommissioned GSM infrastructure to Omnipoint which re-launched in May 2000. Omnipoint was later acquired by VoiceStream Wireless, which eventually became part of T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
.
Partnerships and more consolidation
In September 1996, Sprint announced a deal with RadioShackRadioShack
RadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
, and in 1997 Sprint stores opened at RadioShack to offer their communications services and products through RadioShack Stores across the United States. Since then, over 20 million Sprint cell phones have been sold via the RadioShack outlets. RadioShack was one of the first retailers to offer Sprint services and an all-digital nationwide network for its customers.
On October 5, 1999, Sprint and MCI WorldCom announced a $129 billion merger agreement between the two companies. The deal would have been the largest corporate merger in history at the time. However, the deal did not go through because of pressure from the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
on concerns of it creating a monopoly.
In 2003, Sprint began recombining their local telecom, long distance, wireline, and wireless business units into a new company, in an initiative known internally as "One Sprint." In April 2004, the separately traded wireless tracking stock
Tracking stock
Tracking stock or targeted stock are specialized equity offerings issued by a company that is based on the operations of a wholly owned subsidiary of a diversified firm. Therefore, the tracking stock will be traded at a price related to the operations of the specific division of the company being...
, "PCS," was absorbed into the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
(NYSE) "FON" ticker symbol, Sprint's former ticker symbol. (FON stood for "Fiber Optic Network," but was also a homophone of the word "phone"). This was challenged in many lawsuits by Sprint PCS shareholders who felt robbed because their stock was devalued through the ratio of 1 share of PCS stock for 1/2 share of FON stock. The PCS shareholders claimed a loss of 1.3 billion to 3.4 billion dollars.
Nextel Communications
Nextel was founded as FleetCall in 1987 by Morgan E. O' Brien, a Washington, DC, communications attorney, and Brian D. McAuley. FleetCall changed its name to Nextel Communications in 1993. In 1995, wireless pioneer Craig McCawCraig McCaw
Craig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
became a significant investor in the company. U.S. Senator and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
was one of the early investors. Daniel Akerson
Daniel Akerson
Daniel Francis "Dan" Akerson, is the current Chairman and CEO of General Motors. Akerson succeeded Edward Whitacre as CEO on September 1, 2010, and became Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2011. Akerson was a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group and head of global buyout prior to joining...
served as CEO of Nextel for part of his career. Tim Donahue replaced Akerson as CEO in 1998.
Nextel International
Nextel International was founded in 1996 as a subsidiary of Nextel to operate as a holding company for both mobile service and network infrastructure in foreign countries. It initially operated in Latin America and the Philippines. In 2001, Nextel International declared bankruptcy and re-emerged as NII Holdings, Inc. Following Sprint's purchase of Nextel, Nextel sold off most of its investment.Merger of Sprint and Nextel Corporations
On December 15, 2004, Sprint and NEXTEL announced they would merge to form Sprint Nextel Corporation. While billed as a merger of equals, the merger was transacted as purchase of NEXTEL Communications by Sprint Corporation for tax reasons (Sprint purchased 50.1% of Nextel, and spun off the local telecom division to become EmbarqEmbarq
Embarq Corporation was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States , serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and business customers...
). At the time of the merger announcement Sprint and NEXTEL were the No. 3 and No. 5 leading providers in the U.S. mobile phone industry.
Sprint shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger on July 13, 2005. The merger deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and U.S. Department of Justice on August 3, 2005. The FCC placed a condition on the merger that Sprint Nextel is to provide wireless service within the 2.5 GHz band within the next four years. Sprint Nextel was officially formed on August 12, 2005, when the deal was completed.
Sprint and NEXTEL both faced opposition to the merger, mostly from regional affiliates that provide wireless services on behalf of the companies. These regional affiliates felt that the new company would be violating non-compete agreements that the former companies had made with the affiliates.
Since the merger Nextel Customers are now able to convert their plans to the Sprint side, and Sprint Customers can convert their accounts to the Nextel side. Both changes would require purchasing new phone equipment.
On September 1, 2005, Sprint Nextel combined plan offerings of its Sprint and Nextel brands to bring more uniformity across the company's offerings.
In addition to the U.S. market, Nextel has licensed its identity to NII Holdings, Inc., a holding company of which Sprint Nextel owns 18%. They have used the Nextel brand to set up networks in many Latin American countries.
The integration process was difficult in that top Nextel Executives began leaving the company immediately after the merger closed. Tim Donahue, Nextel CEO, stayed on as executive chairman, but ceded decision-making authority to Forsee. Tom Kelly, COO of Nextel, took an interim staff position as Chief Strategy Officer. Two years after the merger, only a few key Nextel executives remained, with many former Nextel middle- and upper-level managers having left while citing reasons including unbridgeable cultural difference between the two companies.
Sprint's acquisition of Nextel ultimately was a disaster from a fiscal standpoint – in 2008, the company wrote down
Write-off
The term write-off describes a reduction in recognized value. In accounting terminology, it refers to recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, it refers to a reduction of taxable income as recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income...
$29.7 billion of the $36 billion sum it had paid for Nextel in 2005, wiping out 80% of the value of Nextel at the time it had been acquired. The write down reflected the depreciation in Nextel's goodwill
Goodwill (accounting)
Goodwill is an accounting concept meaning the value of an entity over and above the value of its assets. The term was originally used in accounting to express the intangible but quantifiable "prudent value" of an ongoing business beyond its assets, resulting perhaps because the reputation the firm...
since the date of acquisition.
Return to Overland Park
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
after the Nextel merger, Sprint reconsolidated its world headquarters and operational headquarters back to Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
. The move was widely regarded as a strategy to help the company reorganize and become more efficient.
Sprint
Sprint is the main wireless brand of Sprint Nextel Corporation, differentiating it from Sprint PCS of the previous Sprint Corporation. Sprint Nextel maintains its nationwide PCSPersonal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
presence with the help of affiliates. These smaller companies, in agreement with Sprint, build network infrastructure as well as operate retail stores. In exchange, the smaller companies receive usage of Sprint's brand, radio spectrum, customer service and billing. In most cases, these affiliate carriers are transparent to the end user or consumer. This has also given Sprint a unique advantage over other carriers, in that their entire network was built for Sprint. Other national carriers coverage areas are made up of merged and acquired networks, which can cause inconsistent network harmony and other related problems.
Nextel Direct Connect
NEXTEL now Nextel Direct Connect, is used as the brand name for Sprint's line of walkie-talkie enabled phones. Along with iDEN based models, Powersource (CDMA/iDEN) and QChatQChat
QChat is a Push-to-Talk technology developed by Qualcomm.The QChat software application was developed by Qualcomm Internet Services a division of Qualcomm and part of the Qualcomm Wireless and Internet group...
models are branded as Sprint phones with Nextel Direct Connect service.
Sprint Prepaid Group
The Sprint Prepaid Group is a division of Sprint Nextel that was formed in May 2010. Sprint Nextel offers prepaid wirelessWireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
services under its Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, payLo by Virgin Mobile and Assurance Wireless brands.
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile also uses Sprint's CDMA and iDEN networks. Boost Mobile offers Unlimited talk & walkie-talkie (iDENIden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
only), messaging and data on no-contract monthly plans. It also offers a pay as you go plan. The plan, called "Shrinkage," lowers the monthly amount due for consistent and timely payment. Its service is aimed at 'budget minded' consumers.
Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA operates simply as Virgin Mobile, uses Sprint's CDMA network. It offers customers with heavy social networking needs unlimited messaging and data plans as well as mobile broadbandMobile Broadband
Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access through a portable modem, mobile phone or other mobile device.-Description:...
service, with no contract required. The network has about 6 million subscribers. Virgin Mobile targets young consumers. Virgin Mobile USA also offers pay as you go options under its payLo by Virgin Mobile brand.
Assurance Wireless
Assurance Wireless is a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel that Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. operates. It offers lifeline telephone service under the United States Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's Universal Service Fund
Universal Service Fund
The Universal Service Fund was created by the United States Federal Communications Commission in 1997 to meet Congressional universal service goals as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996...
program. The program offers a free wireless phone and 250 free local and domestic long distance voice minutes per month to eligible low-income customers.
End users do not receive a bill, are not required to sign a contract and do not pay activation fees, recurring fees or surcharges. Text messaging is not included with the 200 free voice minutes, unlike TracFone's competing SafeLink program. In addition to the free services customers receive, they may add on additional minutes, text messaging service and international long distance via pre-payment using a credit card, debit card, Virgin Mobile top up card or PayPal.
, Assurance Wireless service is available to qualifying residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
Affiliate Acquisition
In 2005, Sprint Nextel acquired three of its ten wireless affiliates: US Unwired (deal closed in August), Gulf Coast Wireless (deal closed in October), and IWO Holdings (deal closed in October). Alamosa PCS was the largest of its affiliate carriers, which Sprint Nextel acquired on February 2, 2006. Other affiliates include Ubiquitel (acquired), iPCS (acquired), Shentel, Enterprise (acquired), Northern PCS (acquired), and Swiftel. Out of Sprint's original ten affiliates, only two now remain (Shentel and Swiftel). (See the Forced acquisitions and settlements section below for more details on acquisitions)Affiliates of SprintNextel Corp. and Sprint Rural Alliance
CDMA Affiliates: Swiftel in Brookings, South Dakota; Shentel in northern Virginia, and parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.CDMA Partners (SRA Members): Alaska DigiTel in Alaska; Alltel Wireless in Montana; NTelos in West Virginia, and western Virginia; NexTech Wireless in Kansas, and part of Colorado; Pioneer Cellular in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Sprint Affiliates are those carriers who use the Sprint name to offer their services yet operate their own network and use Sprint SIDs
System Identification Number
A System Identification Number is broadcast by one or more Base Stations to identify a cellular network in a certain area . It is globally unique within AMPS, TDMA or CDMA networks...
.
Sprint Partners are those carriers who use their own equipment and also sell their own service. In addition to allowing Sprint to use their equipment, they allow Sprint to hold their license(s) in that area.
Sprint Partners is known as "Sprint Rural Alliance" (SRA).
Sprint's iDEN Network
Sprint Nextel's iDENIden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
network is used and operated for walkie-talkie
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
or "Direct Connect" push-to-talk phones. Nextel is currently offered as a sub-brand under Sprint. It utilizes small 800–900 MHz frequency bands. Sprint's prepay division Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
also utilizes their iDEN network.
Phase out
In October 2010, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced plans to shut down the iDEN network to focus on 4G4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
technology and strengthening the CDMA network.
As the shifting to more broadband-centric PTT applications on the CDMA network occurs, it is expected that iDEN cell sites will be phased out. This phase out is expected to begin in 2013.
Sprint PCS Vision/Power Vision Network
The Sprint network operates a combination 2G2G
2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...
& 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
wireless network, using the 1xRTT/EVDO
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
standard, which is part of the Code Division Multiple Access
Code division multiple access
Code division multiple access is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone standards called cdmaOne, CDMA2000 and WCDMA , which are often referred to as simply CDMA, and use CDMA as an underlying channel access...
(CDMA) standard. In 2006, Sprint's EV-DO Power Vision network reached more than 190 Million people. Sprint had announced plans to continue upgrading their 3G EV-DO network, until it reaches 260 million people in 2007. Not all of Sprint's network has been upgraded to 3G, with several places like Shreveport, LA and Tupelo, MS still lacking 3G.
Sprint's EV-DO (Power Vision) data options include Sprint TV, Sprint Radio (both specialized and local radio) Stations, Sprint Music Store, Sprint On-Demand, unlimited Web access, video and picture mail, wireless chat and games. It is currently being offered in 43 states in the United States.
Data Fees
Sprint's Vision data access starts at $15 a month for regular phones and PDA phones on the CDMA network ($10 on IDEN for regular phones). The most expensive data package was the "Phone as Modem" plan, which required a $40.00 data pro pack plus $15.00 for Phone as Modem, and allowed customers to tether their phone to a computer for use as a wireless modem. While at one point this attachable could be added to any price plan, it is currently restricted from all Everything Messaging, Everything Data, and Simply Everything price plans. Everything Data and Simply Everything include Unlimited Phone-Based Data in their plan price, where Everything Messaging covers data use for SMS/MMS use only. Unlike Verizon's EV-DO offering, Sprint's Power Vision content is available in areas without EV-DO coverage, albeit at the lower speeds of the 1xRTT network. CDMA 1x data speeds can reach 144 kbit/s, while EV-DO currently has bursts of up to 3.1 Mbit/s.
2011 Coverage Issues
Since the first quarter of 2011 many complaints have emerged across the web about the capacity of Sprint's 3G Network. Many customers have complained of extremely slow data speeds well below their advertised levels and comparable to dialup during peak hours of the day. Many customers are also complaining of the customer service regarding this issue. PcMagazine also did a review of the Sprint Network and declared it the slowest network out of all the carriers with a national average of about 434kbit/s which is below the advertised speeds of 660kbit/sSprint's data roaming agreements
On May 9, 2006, Sprint Nextel and AlltelAlltel
Alltel Corporation is a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before an acquisition by Verizon Wireless, it served 34 states. After the merger, Alltel continues to serve six states, mostly in rural areas...
agreed on a new Nationwide Roaming partnership. The new roaming agreement is for both voice, 1x & EV-DO data roaming coverage. This new partnership is different from voice only roaming agreement between Alltel & Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
in that it is reciprocal, giving Alltel customers access to Sprint 1x & EV-DO network, and Sprint customers access to Alltel denser rural 1x & EV-DO voice and data coverage. This agreement represents the first of its kind between U.S. wireless carriers. Although Alltel merged with Verizon Wireless in 2008, one of the conditions of the merger was that Verizon will honor all pre-existing agreements between Alltel and other companies. The roaming reciprocity agreement between Alltel and Sprint is set to expire in 2016.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless have a reciprocal data roaming agreement that even allows for the use of Sprint Power Vision content like TV, movie downloads, and stream radio in Verizon 1x coverage areas.
Sprint and US Cellular have a 1xRTT data and voice roaming agreement.
Mobile virtual network operators
Sprint Nextel also provides wholesales capacity on its PCS/CDMA wireless network to mobile virtual network operatorMobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum, nor does it necessarily have all of the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service...
s. Allowing other wireless carriers to utilize Sprint's Network. Sprint's prepaid brands operate on both Sprint CDMA and the iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
(only Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
) networks; however, they are not an MVNO, but rather wholly owned prepaid divisions of Sprint Nextel.
Broadband for the home via Sprint Mobile
In a play to offer broadband directly to the home, Sprint launched a co-branded Broadband Wireless Access Point device along with LinksysLinksys
Linksys by Cisco, commonly known as Linksys, is a brand of home and small office networking products now produced by Cisco Systems, though once a separate company founded in 1995 before being acquired by Cisco in 2003...
, a unit of Cisco Systems
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
. This unit allows Sprint customers to set up a special in home or office computer network connecting multiple computers or laptops wirelessly to Sprint's PowerVision network. This broadband service to the Internet will allow some customers to have broadband without having to pay for telephone service, as some U.S.-based telephone companies like Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
make it difficult for customers to purchase only ADSL (Broadband) services without also purchasing the separate telephone service. The PowerVision router may be one avenue to bypass the local telephone and cable broadband service providers in being provided with Broadband to the home. Such Broadband offerings to the home or office without cable or DSL means the router could be used to provision cheaper VoIP services through Sprint's High Speed network.
Digital Lounge
Sprint now has a Digital Lounge area on the website where there is access to a variety of products and information. In this centralized location Sprint users can login and buy items for their phones including ringers, call tones, games, screen savers, full-length music downloads and more. The online content manager shows the subscriber what items they have purchased for their phone. Guests visiting the Sprint Digital Lounge can select a phone from a list of options and use it to see what items are available for purchase and compatible with a particular phone.Sprint Music Store
On October 31, 2005, the Sprint Music Store officially launched for PCS customers. Initial record-label participation included: EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. On November 1, 2006, after one year of service, the Sprint music store has sold more than 8 million songs partly thanks to the 5 free songs it offered its customers at launch. On April 1, 2007 the Sprint Music Store started offering over the air music downloads at the price of 99 cents per track if a customer agrees to subscribe to a Vision pack of $15 or higher. Sprint Music Store is currently available for all Android 3G and 4G phones as well as the BlackBerry Style 9670 phones and was launched as the Sprint Music Plus service in 2011 powered by Realnetworks. It offers full track music files from various labels (albums and single tracks), ringback tones, and ringtones. An icon on BlackBerry phones for Sprint Music Store directs users to a page describing that Sprint will release a version of Sprint Music Store soon. In 2011, the Sprint Music Store became available for the BlackBerry Bold 9650.4G WiMAX
Sprint is currently rolling out its 4G technology by utilizing WiMAXWiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
, which will allow customers to access cable broadband-like speeds wirelessly. The rollout is expected to reach 100 metropolitan areas and 120 million people by the end of 2010. Sprint expects to spend over 3 billion dollars upgrading the existing network to WiMAX technology, called Xohm
Xohm
XOHM was the brand name Sprint Nextel Corporation was using to promote its WiMAX services, currently labelled by Sprint Nextel simply as 4G. Sprint was the first service provider in the United States, with its partner Clearwire, to announce the building of a mobile WiMAX network...
. Motorola, Nokia and Samsung have expressed interest in developing dual CDMA and WiMAX phones, allowing customers to utilize both networks. More recently, Google and Sprint announced a formal partnership in deploying WiMAX technology, with Google providing search content along with Sprint.
On May 7, 2008, Sprint Nextel announced it would merge its WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
wireless broadband unit with Clearwire
Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation is a wireless internet service provider serving markets in the United States, Belgium, and Spain...
, combining Sprint's Xohm
Xohm
XOHM was the brand name Sprint Nextel Corporation was using to promote its WiMAX services, currently labelled by Sprint Nextel simply as 4G. Sprint was the first service provider in the United States, with its partner Clearwire, to announce the building of a mobile WiMAX network...
service with the Clearwire broadband network. Sprint will own a simple majority of the resulting company, with current Clearwire shareholders owning just over a quarter. A consortium of Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, Intel, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, and Bright House
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
will invest $3.2 billion and own the balance. The new firm will be called "Clear". Both Sprint and Clear will run off of and have the same network. Whether Sprint will be a "MVNO" on Clear's 4G network or have it considered Sprint's native network, since it owns a majority of Clear, is unknown.
On October 8, 2008, Sprint launched WiMax in Baltimore and showed off several new laptops that will have embedded WiMax chips. And they announced that Sprint will be offering dual-mode 3G/'4G' products by the end of the year. Baltimore is the first city to get Xohm
Xohm
XOHM was the brand name Sprint Nextel Corporation was using to promote its WiMAX services, currently labelled by Sprint Nextel simply as 4G. Sprint was the first service provider in the United States, with its partner Clearwire, to announce the building of a mobile WiMAX network...
, but it is expected to launch soon in more cities, such as Chicago and Philadelphia.
On January 6, 2009, Clearwire launched WiMax in Portland under the Clear brand name. And on June 12, 2009, the CLEAR brand was launched across the entire Atlanta metropolitan area – by far the largest of CLEAR's 4G markets by land area.
On March 23, 2010, Sprint and HTC announced at a CTIA trade show that they would be releasing the HTC EVO 4G
HTC Evo 4G
The HTC Evo 4G is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX network...
, the first 4G phone in the United States. The phone was available June 4, 2010, ahead of competitors' planned releases for 4G phones.
On April 19, 2011, Sprint announced an agreement with Clearwire to pay at least $1 billion to use Clearwire's 4G WiMax network through 2012.
4G LTE
On July 28, 2011, Sprint Nextel announced that they have entered into a 15-year agreement that includes spectrum hosting and network services, 4G wholesale, and 3G roaming with LightSquaredLightSquared
LightSquared is a company that plans to develop a wholesale 4G LTE wireless broadband communications network integrated with satellite coverage across the United States.-History:...
.
On October 7, 2011, Sprint Nextel announced at the Sprint Strategy Update conference their initial LTE deployment plans. Initial deployments of LTE began on October 27, 2011 by Network Vision-partner Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
in Chicago, along with LTE devices available in Mid-2012. LTE is expected to cover 123 million people in 2012 and over 250 million people by end of 2013. Sprint will initially deploy LTE in the 1900 MHz 'G' block and over time will add LTE to its 1900 MHz A-G blocks and to its 800 MHz ESMR band. Sprint will also attempt to leverage LightSquared
LightSquared
LightSquared is a company that plans to develop a wholesale 4G LTE wireless broadband communications network integrated with satellite coverage across the United States.-History:...
LTE at the 1600 MHz band pending FCC approval as well as wholesale Clearwire
Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation is a wireless internet service provider serving markets in the United States, Belgium, and Spain...
LTE at the 2500 MHz band if a deal can be made.
SprintLink
SprintLink is a global Tier 1Tier 1 network
A tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol network that participates in the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection, also known as settlement-free peering.-Definition:...
Internet service provider network, operating an OC-192 Internet backbone
Internet backbone
The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers in the Internet...
. Customers include large multinational corporations, retail and restaurant chains, Tier 2 and Tier 3 ISPs, and medium-to-small businesses. SprintLink has physical presence in the United States, Western Europe, East Asia, Australia, and India. The network wraps all the way around the world with buried fiber optics in the United States and Europe, and undersea fiber in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. SprintLink is the party responsible for cable maintenance and administration in the TAT-14 Consortium
TAT-14
TAT-14 is the 14th consortia transatlantic telecommunications cable system. In operation from 2001, it utilises wavelength division multiplexing. The cable system is built from multiple pairs of fibres—one fibre in each pair is used for data carried in one direction and the other in the opposite...
. Sprint is currently in the process of upgrading their SprintLink core to OC-768 lines to offer increased bandwidth.
Awards
Sprint announced via press release on April 5, 2011, that it had won more Atlantic-ACMAtlantic-ACM
ATLANTIC-ACM is an independent research consultancy serving the telecommunications and information technology industries. Although the firm addresses all aspects of business strategy and publishes the telecommunications industry's sizing and market share studies and forecasts, ATLANTIC-ACM is...
Global Wholesale and U.S. Wholesale awards in 2011 than any other telecommunications carrier. The company cited global wins in Brand and Voice Value, and domestic wins in Brand, Provisioning, Network and Customer Service.
Sprint's partnership with Sun Microsystems
While many CDMA carriers like Verizon WirelessVerizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
and Alltel
Alltel
Alltel Corporation is a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before an acquisition by Verizon Wireless, it served 34 states. After the merger, Alltel continues to serve six states, mostly in rural areas...
, i.e., "Get It Now", "Media Center" and "Axcess," respectively, have chosen to use the BREW
Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless
Brew is an application development platform created by Qualcomm, originally for CDMA mobile phones, featuring third party applications such as mobile games. It is offered in some feature phones but not in smart phones...
interface on their phones, Sprint has opted to use the more widespread Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
interface for their phone's application support. This allows for the use of Third-Party software applications.
Android Market
Sprint recently strengthened its bond with Google and the Android operating system by allowing subscribers to bill application purchases from the Android MarketAndroid Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
to their phone account as opposed to only being able to use a credit card through Google Checkout.
iPhone
During the unveiling of the iPhone 4SIPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
on October 4, 2011, Apple Inc. announced that Sprint will begin carrying the iPhone 4
IPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation iPhone, and successor to the iPhone 3GS. It is particularly marketed for video calling , consumption of media such as books and periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail...
and iPhone 4S. The iPhone 3GS will not be supported as it is GSM only and is not compatible with Sprint's CDMA/EVDO network.
Acquisitions and settlements
Prior to the merger, the Sprint Corporation and Nextel Communications were dependent on a network of affiliated companies. Following the announcement of the merger agreement, some of these affiliates came forward with a strong opposition to the Sprint Nextel merger on the grounds that the merged company may violate existing agreements or significantly undercut earnings to these affiliates. In order for Sprint Nextel to allay some of this opposition by affiliates, they were forced to initiate discussions of either acquiring some of these affiliates or renegotiate existing agreements. In several cases the newly formed company was forced to acquire affiliated companies in exchange for them dropping their opposition of the merger. Foresee has said that the company would likely have to acquire all of its remaining affiliates.Below are companies which Sprint Nextel has agreed to or has already acquired:
- August 12, 2005: Sprint acquires the Sprint PCS affiliate US Unwired for $1.3B. Thus adding some 500,000 additional direct customers to the Sprint Nextel company.
- August 30, 2005: Sprint Nextel announces the intention to acquire IWO Holdings, Inc. a mainly New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
-based network affiliate for the Sprint PCS business. (This acquisition closed on October 20, 2005.) - Another acquisition forced by Gulf Coast Wireless, added an additional 95,000 customers mainly in Louisiana and Mississippi to Sprint Nextel's CDMA network. (With that closing on October 3, 2005).
- November 21, 2005: Sprint Nextel announces a $4.3B. acquisition agreement for Texas-based Sprint PCS affiliate Alamosa Holdings. Potentially adding an additional 1.48 million customers to Sprint Nextel.
- December 16, 2005: Sprint Nextel announces a $98 million agreement to acquire Enterprise Communications of Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, GeorgiaColumbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, thus adding over 52,000 customers to the company's PCS Wireless division. - December 16, 2005: Sprint Nextel announces acquisition of non-affiliate Velocita WirelessVelocita WirelessVelocita Wireless is a national wireless-telecommunications service provider that is based in Woodbridge, New Jersey, United States. Known by several names over the years, Velocita Wireless has been in existence for over 17 years as the operator of the Mobitex network in the United States...
. The transaction will enhance the iDEN network's 900 MHz spectrum position. On July 2, 2007 Velocita Wireless, which became an indirect subsidiary of Sprint Nextel was acquired by United Wireless Holdings, Inc. - December 21, 2005: Sprint Nextel Corporation and Nextel Partners, Inc finally reach an agreement for a $6.5 billion deal where the Sprint Nextel Corporation will acquire the largest of Nextel's affiliates to end Nextel Partners' opposition to any changes by Sprint in relation to the NEXTEL merger. Once completed the Nextel Partners deal will add more than 2 million customers directly to the Sprint Nextel company.
- April 20, 2006: Sprint Nextel Corporation and Ubiquitel PCS Corporation reached an agreement where the Sprint Nextel Corporation would acquire Ubiquitelpcs, an exclusive Sprint PCS provider.
- March 17, 2007: Sprint Nextel Corporation completes integration of Nextel Partners customers into the Sprint Nextel system. Nextel Partners Las Vegas headquarters shuts down service and all Nextel Partners customers are now handled through the new "Ensemble" billing system. All Nextel Partners customers are now officially Sprint Nextel customers and are entitled to the same promotions as all other Sprint Nextel iDEN customers.
- August 2, 2007: Sprint Nextel Corporation completed the acquisition of Northern PCS for $312.5 million including debt.
- July 28, 2009: Sprint Nextel announces a $483 million acquisition agreement for Virgin Mobile USA, adding an additional 5 million pre-paid customers to Sprint Nextel, although these subscribers were counted in Sprint's total subscriber count, as Virgin Mobile USA was a MVNO on Sprint's CDMA network.
- October 19, 2009: Sprint Nextel agrees to acquire iPCS, one of its last remaining affiliates.
- December 6, 2010: Sprint announces plans to phase out the iDEN network by 2013.
Airave
On September 17, 2007, Sprint Nextel Corp. launched the Airave, which increases cell reception over an area of 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) and can handle up to three calls at once by hooking into an existing broadband connection and using VOIP. the Airave helps eliminate the obstacles of poor signal quality inside buildings. Airave is used only for voice calls using a Sprint CDMA phone at this time and is not available for Nextel iDEN phones or data cards/USB modems. By default, the Airave unit allows any Sprint phone to connect through it, but it can be reconfigured to only accept connections from up to 50 authorized numbers in order to eliminate unwanted use.Law enforcement cooperation
Sprint Nextel provided U.S. government agencies with its subscribers' GPS locations over 8 million times in a one year period between September 2008 and October 2009. The disclosures occurred by way of a special, secure portal which Sprint developed specifically for government officials, which enables users to automatically obtain Sprint customers' GPS locations after submitting a court order or search warrant, or in exigent situations. The GPS function is only allowed after the request has been reviewed and activated by Sprint's surveillance department.In music
- Sprint Nextel was the official wireless sponsor of the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards2007 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, re-naming many of the remaining awards, and having only four...
. Sprint Power Vision customers were able to watch the VMAs on a live simulcast on their Sprint Power Vision handset free of charge.
Onscreen (in films)
- Sprint cellphones were used from a product positioning point from movies such as 12 Rounds12 Rounds12 Rounds is a British rock band formed by Atticus Ross and singer Claudia Sarne, who are married. After the release of their first album, Jitter Juice, they toured with the Sneaker Pimps. 12 Rounds played the Reading Festival in 1996...
, The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
, 27 Dresses27 Dresses27 Dresses is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Aline Brosh McKenna. The film stars Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. The film was released January 10, 2008 in Australia and opened in the United States on January 18....
, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, Beverly Hills ChihuahuaBeverly Hills ChihuahuaBeverly Hills Chihuahua is a 2008 family comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is directed by Raja Gosnell and released on October 3, 2008...
, Bride WarsBride WarsBride Wars is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson....
, Dan in Real LifeDan in Real LifeDan in Real Life is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche.-Plot:Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and a controlling father to his children Jane, Cara and Lilly in the New Jersey suburbs. His column is in...
, Eagle EyeEagle EyeEagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
, Spiderwick Chronicles, SuperbadSuperbadSuperbad may refer to:* Superbad ** Superbad * Superbad * "Super Bad" , by James Brown* Super Bad , by Terminator X* Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz, an album by Lil Boosie...
(Boost Mobile phones), Transformers: Revenge of the FallenTransformers: Revenge of the FallenTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
, and Wild HogsWild HogsWild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...
.
- Sprint Nextel is the official wireless sponsor of Regal CinemasRegal Entertainment GroupRegal Entertainment Group also known as REG is a movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Regal operates the largest and most geographically diverse theater circuit in the United States, consisting of 6,775 screens in 548 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia as of...
, which reminds movie patrons to silence their cellphones before the feature presentation.
Onscreen (in television)
- Sprint was a sponsor of the FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television series 2424 (TV series)24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
and currently a sponsor of FringeFringe (TV series)Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
and provides exclusive content to its cell phone subscribers
- Sprint was a major sponsor of the NBC television series HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
and provided exclusive web content to subscribers.
- Sprint is a major sponsor of competition reality shows, such as Big BrotherBig Brother (TV series)Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
and SurvivorSurvivor (U.S. TV series)Survivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. The series premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS...
on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, enabling viewers to vote each week for "Player of the Game". Viewers can text a vote for their selected contestant, and a randomly selected participant who votes for the most popular player wins a cash prize.
- Sprint is the mobile sponsor of NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Voice.
In sports
- Sprint Nextel is the major title sponsor of NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
’s top racing series, formerly called the NEXTEL Cup, which became known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting January 1, 2008.
- Sprint Nextel holds naming rights to the Sprint CenterSprint CenterSprint Center is a large, multi-use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The building is located at 14th Street and Grand Boulevard, on the east side of the Power & Light District...
in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Other
- Sprint Nextel is one of the corporate sponsors of the Las Vegas MonorailLas Vegas MonorailThe Las Vegas Monorail is a monorail mass transit system located on the Las Vegas Strip, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It connects the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester, and does not actually enter the City of Las Vegas. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas...
. Wireless customers are able to purchase ticketsTicket (admission)A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
for the Las Vegas Monorail from their wireless phones under a system known as mobile ticketingMobile ticketing1. Mobile ticketing is the process whereby customers can order, pay for, obtain and validate tickets from any location and at any time using mobile phones or other mobile handsets. Mobile tickets reduce the production and distribution costs connected with traditional paper-based ticketing channels...
.
Nextel's NASCAR FanView named to Time Magazines Best Inventions of 2006
In Time Magazines November 13 issue, Sprint Nextel's NASCAR FanView was added to the list One of Best Inventions of 2006. The NASCAR FanView is a portable PDAPDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
that runs on Sprint's data network. The device offers fans access to "Race telecast and up to seven in-car camera channels, direct audio feeds allowing the user to listen to live driver and team conversations, as well as the radio broadcast and an exclusive audio-replay feature."
Celebrity spokespersons
- From October 1990 through September 1998, actress Candice BergenCandice BergenCandice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
(Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
) served as spokesperson for Sprint Corporation's long distance service, most notably during their "10-cents-a-minute" promotion.
- From 1999 until 2002, fellow EmmyEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winner, Sela WardSela WardSela Ann Ward is an American movie and television actress, perhaps best known for her television roles as Teddy Reed on the American TV series Sisters and as Lily Manning on Once and Again...
(SistersSisters (TV series)Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
), succeeded Candice Bergen when emphasis on long-distance service was discontinued.
- Over a six-year period, up until the Sprint-Nextel merger in 2005, spokesperson Brian BakerBrian Baker (actor)Brian Edward Baker is an American actor best known for his recurring role as a trenchcoated spokesman in Sprint's television commercials.-Early career:...
, an actor, appeared as trenchcoated character "The Sprint Guy" in 155 spots.
- On October 21, 2006 Sprint Nextel announced as part of their new "Power Up" campaign, that they would use actor Ron LivingstonRon LivingstonRonald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
as a "Straightforward, relatable guy who finds unconventional ways to talk about Sprint's wireless services." Livingston is best known for his work in the film Office SpaceOffice SpaceOffice Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
and the television series Band of Brothers.
- In 2007 Stacy LondonStacy LondonStacy London is an American fashion consultant and media personality known primarily for her role as co-host on What Not to Wear, a reality program that features makeovers. After graduating from Vassar College, London started her career as a fashion editor at Vogue and transitioned into being a...
, fashion consultant and co-host of What Not to WearWhat Not to Wear (US version)What Not to Wear is an American makeover reality television show based on a British show of the same name. The program currently airs on TLC in the United States and Canada, and foreign versions in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina...
, partnered with Sprint to launch their "My Mobile Style" website which aimed to help people choose a cell phone based on their personal style. She is quoted as saying "I partnered with Sprint on this project because Sprint understands that your mobile phone is a major reflection of who you are."
- Since 2007, Sprint has not used a spokesperson in its ads, opting instead for voiceover announcers, or in the case of the "Simply Everything" series of commercials, current chief executive Dan Hesse.
See also
- ClearwireClearwireClearwire Corporation is a wireless internet service provider serving markets in the United States, Belgium, and Spain...
- LightSquaredLightSquaredLightSquared is a company that plans to develop a wholesale 4G LTE wireless broadband communications network integrated with satellite coverage across the United States.-History:...
- Nextel CommunicationsNextel CommunicationsNextel Communications, commonly styled NEXTEL and formerly traded on the NASDAQ as NXTL, now a part of the Sprint Nextel Corporation, was a United States telecommunications firm operating a nationwide push to talk mobile communications system. Unlike other mobile networks, the Nextel network...
- NII HoldingsNII HoldingsNII Holdings Inc. , a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., provides mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII, which operates under the Nextel brand, has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru and offers fully integrated wireless communications...
- Open Handset AllianceOpen Handset AllianceThe Open Handset Alliance is a consortium of 84 firms to develop open standards for mobile devices. Member firms include Google, HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, T-Mobile, Nvidia, and Wind River Systems.-History:The OHA was...
- WiMAXWiMAXWiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...