nextel

Is it just me, or is Sprint really trying to confuse the heck out of everyone? When the carrier merged with Nextel almost two years ago, everyone in the cell phone world thought it was the oddest of odd couples, and it was. Not only did the two companies operate incompatible networks (Nextel had its signature iDEN service while Sprint used CDMA), but also they attracted different consumer segments. Though at the time Sprint promised that it would be a "merger of equals," Nextel fans weren't so sure. How would the combined company integrate the two carriers … Read more

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are still collaborating on building their Wimax networks and the companies have made significant headway on a roaming deal, Clearwire Chief Executive Ben Wolff said on Wednesday.

Wolff, who spoke at the company's analyst conference in Portland, Ore., stopped short of making any big partnership announcement with Sprint. And he declined to comment on a Wall Street Journal article published Tuesday that said Sprint was considering spinning off its Xohm network and combining it with Clearwire's network.

In July, Sprint and Clearwire said they would partner to build out their networks and commercialize the service. … Read more

Sprint Nextel and Verizon Communications both see an opportunity to make a buck on their IP telephony patents after successfully suing Vonage Holdings last year.

On Thursday, Sprint Nextel said in a U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kan., that it was suing four small phone companies. Sprint alleges that Nuvox Communication, BroadVOX Holdings, Big River Telephone, and Paetec Communications are infringing on six of its patents.

Those patents, part of a larger portfolio of patents that cover voice over IP technology owned by Sprint, are the same ones used to successfully sue Vonage. The two companies eventually settled the … Read more

Sprint Nextel is looking for replacements at the top of its corporate food chain.

On Thursday, the beleaguered wireless carrier said that three of its top execs, including Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh, are leaving the company effective Friday. The company named Senior Vice President and Controller William Arendt as the interim CFO, while it searches for a permanent replacement.

Tim Kelly, chief marketing officer, and Mark Angelino, president of sales and distribution, are also stepping down.

Sprint has been in the process of reshaping its executive team for the past few months. Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee was the … Read more

Sorry--I'm a couple days late with this, but I was a bit distracted by Macworld yesterday. Yes, there are other cell phones than the iPhone, and Moto gave us a new one yesterday with the i570 for Sprint Nextel. Like the recent i335 the i570 takes after the Nextel-branded phones of a couple years ago by running only on the iDEN network and offering a rugged shell that's built to last. The flip-phone offers a monochrome external display, a color internal display and all the Nextel features you'd expect including Direct Connect push-to-talk support, voice dialing, a … Read more

Sprint Nextel is preparing to cut thousands of jobs, according to the The Wall Street Journal.

The company's new CEO, Dan Hesse, is supposedly trying to show investors that he is serious about cutting costs, the newspaper's Web site reported late on Monday. A Sprint representative declined to comment on the story.

Exactly how many people could lose their jobs is not yet known. Last year the company cut about 5,000 jobs. At the end of the last quarter Sprint reported it had roughly 60,000 employees.

Sprint is the third-largest cell phone company in the U.… Read more

With a mandate to "improve execution across the board," wireless carrier Sprint Nextel named industry veteran Dan Hesse as its president and CEO.

Hesse is a former AT&T Wireless executive and was head of Embarq, the telephone division Sprint spun off in May last year, so he knows his way around the telecommunications business, but his new job nonetheless comes with considerable pressure.

The company's search for a new chief executive began in early October, when the Sprint board pushed out chairman and CEO Gary Forsee and tapped Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh to become acting CEO. … Read more

Hold the gravy! Check it out--it looks like you can add the Sprint store to your list of places to shop on Black Friday, as the carrier announced today that the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130, Motorola Q9c, and Motorola i335 will all be available starting November 23, though you'll only be able to purchase the Moto Q9c online for the time-being.

The RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 will run $199.99 with a two-year contract and has built-in GPS and EV-DO with support for the Sprint Power Vision services, including Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, and Sprint Navigation--a pretty robust … Read more

Sprint Nextel may be considering some big changes to its WiMax strategy, which might include a merger with start-up service provider Clearwire, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

Sprint Nextel is supposedly weighing its options on the matter as it looks for a new CEO, the article said. The company's former CEO Gary Forsee was forced out of the company last month. Sprint, the third largest wireless operator in the United States behind AT&T and Verizon Wireless, has been bleeding customers for the past few quarters as it deals with integrating the … Read more