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Beep beep -- Sprint's looking to offload iDEN network?
Still committed to iDEN, eh? After another relatively brutal quarter of lost cash, lost subscribers, and lost opportunities, word on the street is that Sprint might be rethinking its approach to its legacy push-to-talk network -- the obsolescence-bound spectrum it acquired via its purchase of Nextel a few years back for the questionable price of $35 billion. Given Sprint's current financial state, a liquidity crunch means that the carrier is looking to offload any salable piece; Nextel's not exactly the most attractive piece of that puzzle with a declining subscriber base, limited bandwidth, and a limited range of Moto hardware to back it up, but even at its current estimated value of $5 billion, analysts are suggesting that Sprint could be willing to bite at a deal. NII Holdings, which operates iDEN networks under the Nextel brand in Brazil, Mexico, and a handful of other Latin American countries, is being tossed around as a potential suitor, as are private equity firms looking to make a quick buck. How one goes about making a quick buck on a network as old and quirky as iDEN in the year 2008, though, remains to be seen.[Via Phone Scoop]
Nextel's new BlackBerry: the Curve 8350?
Rumors persist that RIM has another BlackBerry planned for Nextel's iDEN network -- a network that's aging rapidly, no question, but it still has gobs of relevance in the business world where RIM just happens to keep its bread and butter. Last we'd heard there would be a WiFi-compatible Nextel BlackBerry by the end of the year, and it looks like that window is still basically on track -- though it may slip to early 2009 -- and when it does finally launch, it'll take the form of a Curve with model number 8350. Don't get us wrong, the Curve is a great device by 2007 and early 2008 standards, but if it really does launch early next year, it'll be staring down the barrel of at least one entirely new stablemate, the Bold, and possibly several others as well. 'Course, there are probably plenty of faithful push-to-talkers out there that are thankful just to have any reasonably recent BlackBerry in the pipeline, so three cheers for that, we suppose.
Report says Nextel waived early termination fees for the government
Want to get around those costly, annoying fees the telcos hit you with if you break your cellphone contract early? Get a job with the US government. According to internal emails from Nextel which were uncovered by the Associated Press, the company debated whether it could charge the folks in power early termination fees (ETFs), with then-vice president Scott Wiener arguing that "the government will never, never accept such penalty amounts." Nextel ultimately decided to forgo the charges for Uncle Sam, while continuing to bilk its average users without as much as a batted eyelash. The FCC is currently taking a look at the fee situation -- let's see if they can give end users a fairer shake than the providers.[Thanks, Travis]
Sprint to sell off assets due to subscriber defections?
Things aren't going so hot down Sprint way right now -- although the carrier recently entered into that landmark $12B WiMAX deal with Clearwire and several other companies, it lost over a million wireless subscribers last quarter and posted a net loss of $211M. That's enough for CEO Dan Hesse to smack the emergency button: he's laying off 4,000 workers, closing Sprint stores, and cutting rates in an efforts to gain back customers and get back into the black. On top of all that, word on the street is that Sprint may also start selling off other assets, including lame-duck Nextel, even though that would involve "significant complexities," according to Hesse. Still, just the fact that he's thinking about it seems like a sign -- too bad no one asked him about those Deutsche Telekom buyout rumors.
Sprint dropped 1.09 million subscribers in Q1
Q1 2008 wasn't a pretty one for Sprint. The company lost 1.09 million subscribers to the competition, while also losing a bit of ground on its average revenue per customer, now at $56 a month. Sprint's got 52.8 subscribers left to squander work with, so we'll see if initiatives like a potential Nextel spinoff or the upcoming Samsung Instinct (pictured) can do anything to staunch the bleeding. [Via Electronista]
Sprint "seriously considering" spinning off Nextel
We'd take this with half a tablespoon of salt for now, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint-Nextel Corp. is "seriously considering spinning off or selling its ailing Nextel unit." That's according to undisclosed people "familiar with the situation," though Sprint did decline to comment on whether it actually was considering a sale of Nextel. Also of note, Cyren Call is reportedly attempting to "assemble a consortium of investors to acquire Nextel as part of its plans to create a nationwide wireless network for public safety communications," and while it can't be confirmed, we are hearing that Sprint is "contemplating other possible buyers such as private equity firms." Still, these same sources made clear that "no deal was imminent and that Sprint was preoccupied for the moment with other matters." It's no secret that the firm would be way more attractive to suitors (read: Deutsche Telekom) if the flagging Nextel division was detached from the deal, but we guess we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. [Warning: read link requires subscription][Thanks to everyone who sent this in, image courtesy of Flickr]
Nextel getting a WiFi iDEN BlackBerry this year
After some serious neglect, Sprint is finally giving the Nextel iDEN network some new devices, not the least of which is a WiFi BlackBerry, says Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. The phone will hit the network "later this year," and will be accompanied by phones from Sanyo, Samsung, Motorola and LG that will rock the Sprint CDMA, but will use Nextel capabilities for push-to-talk. That old 7100i (pictured) doesn't stand a chance. [Via Boy Genius]
Sanyo's Pro-200 and Pro-700 Direct Connect handsets get official
Fresh out of the FCC's lair comes a new pair of QChat-enabled mobiles ready to launch on Sprint: Sanyo's Pro-200 and Pro-700. Unsurprisingly getting official at CTIA, the pair of Nextel Direct Connect devices can handle all the hot PTT action you could ask for, and while the Pro-200 (shown above) checks in with Bluetooth, messaging capabilities and mobile e-mail, the beefier brother (pictured after the jump) touts a ruggedized shell "certified to military standards for dust, shock and vibration." Curiously, the duo is only expected to go on sale in "limited markets" this month, with availability popping up elsewhere in due time; those eager to get their chirp on can plan on dropping $49.99 / $69.99 on contract, respectively.[Thanks, Colton]
Latest financials confirm it: Sprint and Nextel probably shouldn't have merged
Well, it looks like the aggressively priced unlimited action really didn't come a moment too soon. We're no economists here, but it doesn't take rocket science, a Ph.D., collegiate level maths, or even a fancy calculator to crunch the cold, hard numbers coming out of Sprint Nextel's fourth quarter earnings call. For starters, the number three carrier in the US reported a net loss of nearly $29.5 billion, which -- get this -- is more than the combined value of its outstanding stock. Let us reiterate for emphasis and drama value: Sprint lost more money in the fourth quarter of 2007 than the company is worth. Wow. If it's any consolation, the staggering figure is largely due to a $29.7 billion write-down of Nextel's value, which as the Wall Street Journal lays out, makes the 2005 merger officially a "Deal From Hell." With postpaid subscribers continuing to migrate to other carriers, there's no telling how to stop the hemorrhaging -- especially if the fresh $99 unlimited plan doesn't end up doing the trick -- but something tells us the move to Kansas isn't going to magically patch it all up.
Sprint talks up "Push-to-X," chimes in on future features
Though Direct Connect remains the overwhelming favorite among US carriers for push-to-talk service, Sprint is reminding folks that its capabilities go far beyond talking alone. Fresh PR details some of Sprint's current "push-to-X" services, including push-to-email, push-to-picture (can picture really be used as a verb?), and push-to-send contact info, but thanks in part to a fresh commitment to iDEN, that's just the beginning. Sprint's also revealing a little detail about some of the things will be able to push to do in the future -- push-to-text, push-to-locate, and push-to-information are specifically mentioned -- as new (and unspecified) Direct Connect models supporting broadband data get rolled out. Samsung, LG, what say you?[Via phoneArena]
Sprint says it's still committed to iDEN
As we mentioned yesterday, Sprint has gone on record saying that it's going to continue to stand behind its legacy iDEN infrastructure, the massive PTT network inherited from its Nextel acquisition and marketed under the Nextel Direct Connect brand. We can understand that there are thousands of companies and millions of individuals that rely on Direct Connect to go about their business -- but by the same token, we're surprised that Sprint isn't instead saying that it intends to aggressively push its upcoming CDMA-based Qchat system over iDEN and make the transition as smooth and inexpensive as possible for its Direct Connect customers. Whatevs; we suppose it's good news that Sprint intends to inject a handful of relatively exciting new hardware into the mix in 2008 -- something Sprint alludes to in its press release, along with the promise of several new "press-to-x" features that will allow users to send texts, pictures and the like just as they would a PTT call. Last time we checked that was called SMS and MMS, but what do we know?
Poll: What's wrong with Sprint?
With the bleak news out of Sprint's camp this morning, employees, stockholders, analysts, and subscribers all have to be wondering pretty much the same thing: what's going wrong? Xohm's just around the corner, so these guys have a pretty good lead on the competition in the race to 4G -- but is there something far more systematic about Sprint's core business that's causing paying heads to leave in droves? Go sound off over on Engadget!
Regulators put pressure on Sprint to remedy issues with iDEN network
Although Sprint has coughed up some $1 billion over the past few years in order to nix the interference between 2,200 public safety agencies across the US and its iDEN network, it apparently hasn't done enough. Reportedly, the FCC has warned Sprint that it "could lose access to the signal spectrum used by its Nextel- and Boost Mobile-branded wireless services" if it doesn't remedy the problem by June of 2008. Supposedly, Sprint is "working hard" to settle the issue, but it's not wasting any time asking the US Court of Appeals to get involved. The carrier claims that these shut down threats could force it to halt signups of Nextel-branded customers, and furthermore, around three million public-safety workers would purportedly lose service if the FCC did indeed shut down the Nextel network. 'Course, industry analysts are suggesting that regulators wouldn't really go through with shutting it down, but if nothing else, this should light a fire under Sprint to expedite the process.[Via PhoneScoop]
Sprint Nextel agrees to start unlocking phones
An under-the-radar class action lawsuit against Sprint Nextel is winding its way towards a settlement this week, and it contains a pretty huge concession by Sprint: the company will unlock phones for both current and former customers, and will begin training its customer service reps on how to connect non-Sprint phones to its network. The settlement was tentatively approved by a California judge on October 2, but hasn't had a final approval hearing yet, according to Sprint -- but it's still a huge win for US consumers, who haven't been able to buy mainstream unlocked phones from any of the major carriers. Of course, since Sprint's network is CDMA, unlocked phones will only work on other CDMA carriers like Verizon -- and there's no guarantees those companies will be happy about it -- but at this point we'll take whatever we can get.
Sprint hits up Vonage for another $80 million
Vonage, everyone's favorite "gettin' sued by The Man" company has taken another beating in the Sprint-Nextel patent suit, agreeing to settle the case and license the telco's internet-calling technology for the tidy sum of $80 million. This comes hot on the heels of last month's ruling, which stipulated that Vonage was to pay $69.5 million to Sprint over six patents which the mobile phone company says it had infringed. "We are pleased to resolve our dispute with Sprint and enter into a productive future relationship," said Sharon O'Leary, General Counsel for Vonage, though it's possible she wasn't as ecstatic as that quote would have you believe. This is just another money-siphoning event for the VoIP company, which in March was hit up for $66 million from Verizon for illegally using some of its patents. If you're keeping count at home, that's $215.5 million paid out. If this keeps up, they may not even be able to afford those snappy commercials anymore. [Warning: read link requires subscription]
Chattanoogans to get Bus-Fi, contactless payment options on CARTA
Although Bus-Fi is no stranger to San Francisco, it'll be new to Chattanooga, Tennessee soon enough. Reportedly, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) will be implementing "its long-planned Smartbus program" which includes "automatic vehicle locating via GPS and an automatic vehicle management system." More interesting, however, is the new WiFi system that will enable riders on CARTA buses, CARTA shuttle buses, CARTA Care-a-van vehicles or even the Incline Railway access to free internet. Additionally, users will even be able to "use credit cards and new smartcard technology, one which uses contactless proximity cards to pay bus fares" starting next Spring. As for the free WiFi, expect that to be available sometime over the next 15 months as the new services are gradually added to CARTA vehicles.
Sprint to preserve Nextel Direct Connect branding for PTT
Though Nextel may be long since assimilated as a company, parts of its branding look to live on thanks to an official announcement from Sprint today. As prior reports suggested, the carrier is reporting that push-to-talk services will continue to carry the treasured "Nextel Direct Connect" branding that has largely represented enterprise PTT service in the US for ages (14 years, to be exact). Furthermore, Nextel Direct Connect will be used "regardless of network platform," indicating that the name will be used even as Sprint works to transition the bulk of its PTT services from iDEN to CDMA. Speaking of CDMA, Sprint is using the same press release to tout a plethora of new Direct Connect devices in the pipe for 2008, spanning the range from "rugged phones that meet the rigors of military specifications to sleek new flip phones" -- and get this, they'll come from "Sprint's leading manufacturers," suggesting that Motorola is going to lose its stranglehold on the service. The more, the merrier, we say!
SK Telecom in talks to purchase Sprint Nextel?
Well this should shake up the market a tad, Korea's monster provider is purportedly in talks to acquire Sprint Nextel. No details have been released yet -- nor any solid confirmation from either side -- but we're seeing it and hearing it all over this morning. It would indeed be interesting to see Korea's largest carrier get into the market over here -- well, aside from Helio -- if only so we can get at some of those slick, slick, Korean handsets. It seems that Telecom mergers are the new black, with Bell Canada and Telus' attempt eventually falling off the rails, we'll see how SK Telecom and Sprint get along.
Sprint links both its networks for walkie-talkie call
Although Sprint has decided to dump the Nextel name from all its marketing efforts, it is (of course) keeping that billion-dollar iDEN network operational. To drive that point home, the wireless carrier made the first walkie-talkie connection between two different phones (one on each network) recently. Yes, Nextel's "Direct Connect" talked to Sprint's upgraded EV-DO revision A network as the carrier prepares to make that newer EV-DO revision A network interoperable with the older iDEN network sometime next year when it comes to that chirping walkie talkie feature.
Nintendo packs up the mullet and heads to the races
Establishing themselves as the dominant console just wasn't enough for the Nintendo company, as they declared themselves prepared to enter the NASCAR circuit with the Wii-themed Ford Fusion. Driven by Roush Fenway Racing and NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Greg Biffle, the car will make its debut at Watkins Glen next month, followed by an encore performance at Dover's Monster Mile in September. We have to question Nintendo's motives here, but not being NASCAR fans ourselves, we don't really think we're equipped to criticize. See also: Nascar rookie gives his wife a Wii[Via press release]
