nextel

Sprint probably can't wait to excise the Nextel part of its business.

The Overland Park, Kan., wireless carrier reported hefty fourth-quarter subscriber losses on the Nextel side, with more than 1 million customers leaving the service, easily offsetting the gains made on its core Sprint business. In total, it lost 337,000 net customers.

Sprint posted a loss of $1.32 billion, or 44 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $1.3 billion, or 43 cents a share. Revenue, however, rose to $9 billion.

The results were better than expected. Analysts, on average, forecast a per-share … Read more

Sprint Nextel played the field a bit before committing to a merger with SoftBank, according to a merger proxy document filed by Sprint this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The nation's third-largest wireless carrier had discussions with at least four companies, though the specific names weren't revealed.

The wheeling and dealing underscores the trend toward industry consolidation, spurred partly by competition, as well as by the need for more wireless spectrum. Sprint, in particular, was in both a financial and spectrum bind prior to the SoftBank deal.

Before the SoftBank deal, Sprint had discussions with "… Read more

Dish Network made an unsolicited bid to buy Clearwire for $5.15 billion, upping the ante for Sprint Nextel, which entered into an agreement last month to purchase the 50 percent of the wireless broadband provider it does not already own.

Dish is offering $3.30 per share for all outstanding shares in Clearwire, about 11 percent more than Sprint's offer, and a 13 percent premium over today's closing stock price. The stock price was up 23 cents, or 7.8 percent, to $3.15 a share in after-hours trading.

Sprint announced in December that the two companies … Read more

Talks between Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are heating up.

Sprint confirmed via a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made public today that it is in talks with Clearwire to buy out the remaining stake in the upstart wireless provider that it doesn't already own.

The company said it believes that it would cost $2.1 billion to buy out the remaining 49 percent stake in Clearwire, valuing the company at $2.90 a share, or a 5.5 percent premium to its closing price on Wednesday.

Clearwire also submitted a filing confirming the talks, but declined to … Read more

Sprint Nextel may be moving closer to taking full control of 4G wireless provider Clearwire, according to CNBC.

The two companies are in active negotiations, and Sprint has been talking with some of Clearwire's big-name shareholders, including Intel and Comcast, in taking full control of the company, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources.

A deal isn't imminent, but an announcement could come by the end of the year, the report said.

Representatives from both Sprint and Clearwire declined to comment.

Sprint is looking to scoop up the remaining 49 percent of Clearwire's stock it doesn't already hold, … Read more

Dish, the satellite-TV company, may start a mobile-phone service through Sprint Nextel's network, if it goes through with a rumored deal proposed by the wireless carrier, Bloomberg reported today.

Sprint has asked to partner with Dish in order to get access to Dish's currently unused mobile airwaves, unnamed sources told Bloomberg. In exchange, Sprint would let Dish offer its wireless service to its customers. The possible partnership was discussed "in recent months" and would let Dish get into the mobile phone game, something the satellite-TV company has been looking to do, without building its own network. … Read more

Sprint will begin charging Nextel iDEN customers who do not upgrade to Sprint's CDMA push-to-talk service an extra $10 a month starting in January.

The move is apparently designed to encourage customers migrate from the iDEN network, which Sprint plans to shut down on June 30, 2013. The charge will not apply to CDMA customers.

"Customers that migrate prior to January will likely find a price plan comparable to what they have now," Sprint spokesman Mark Bonavia said in a statement. "They are also eligible to receive a variety of very attractive device offers."

Sprint, … Read more

The FCC's chairman has given his thumbs-up to Dish Network's desire to enter the wireless market. But Dish is none too happy with the restrictions proposed.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said yesterday he would approve Dish's request to build its own 4G wireless network, the Washington Post reported. The federal agency, which opposed the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile last year, wants to see more competition in the wireless industry.

"If approved, these actions will promote competition, investment, and innovation, and advance commission efforts to unleash spectrum for mobile broadband to help meet … Read more

Republic Wireless, the service provider that made waves last year with its super-low $19 unlimited voice, data, and text messaging plan, is back and open to all.

The company garnered headlines and a lot of buzz for its plans when it launched a year ago, and consumers likewise gravitated toward the service -- the service provider had to shut its beta trial shortly after it opened up because of a surge of demand.

Republic Wireless, which buys and resells capacity from Sprint Nextel's network, is able to deliver such a low-priced service because it's betting that users will … Read more