Sprint announced their third quarter results during a conference call this week. The results show that Sprint has lost 423,000 subscribers during this quarter. Sprints focus this quarter has been preparing the shut down the Nextel iDEN network. Sprint maintains that the benefits of the CDMA network vastly outweigh what they would gain by maintaining the antiquated iDEN network. This year 9,600 iDEN sites have already been taken offline, and a complete shut down is estimated to come in the middle of 2013. Sprint recently fortified their position in Clearwire by increasing the their stock position by $100 Million to provide 50.8% ownership of the available stock assets. Clearwire is planning to provide 5,800 TD-LTE sites by mid 2013, that Sprint will use to eschew data from their own network. CEO Dan Hesse did not provide much insight on the offer from Softbank to purchase 70% of the company, but made statements leading some to believe that Softbank may fund their spectrum acquisitions.
Via Fierce Wireless
Sprint has announced they will divest several markets of the iDEN network. This court ordered Divestiture is taking place stemming from a lawsuit in Illinois brough forth by iPCS. The judge ruled that Sprints sales of competing products in the affiliate market breaks the affiliate agreement in place between the two companies. The area to be divested will be select markets in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. The divestiture must be finished by January 25th 2010.
Sprint has seen the IDEN network in a new light. Apparently, after being willing to dump the network for the "right" offer, the troubled carrier has decided to turn the boat around and rejuvenate Nextel's nationwide IDEN network. Nextel has long held immense customer loyalty over their walkie-talkie product dubbed direct connect. Direct Connect is the fastest two way instant communications product of its kind in the wireless industry. Sprint has re-aligned itself with Motorola by extending their partnership for network and software support. A new up-to-date range of devices is just what the doctor ordered, and is exactly what Sprint will be dishing out. The new range of devices will also include an iDEN Blackberry curve. Eight total models of IDEN device will blast us in 2009, 5 of them should occur within the first half of the year. Sprint has been spending a great deal of time trying to fix corporate woes, and as a result stepped away from being competitive for a little while. The renewed focus toward IDEN, improving reviews in JD Power and Associates wireless industry surveys, and a new year should prove impressive for both Sprint and their remaining customers. 2009 should get very interesting with Sprint coming out of the gate with a bang.
The newest Motorola Razr is available for the first time in an IDEN flavor. The i9, which has not been officially announced by Motorola or Sprint is reminiscent of the Razr2 V9 series. This new Razr will sport 3.1 MP camera w/ auto-focus, GPS, Bluetooth (includes Stereo), PTT, and PTX. The front of the phone will carry a unique morphing key that changes depending on if you are holding the phone in portrait or landscape modes. This formerly code named CABO will make a great addition to the iDEN line up. IDEN customers have been waiting for a small feature filled phone like this since the release of the Razr V3c on the CDMA networks. The release dates, price information, and channel availability are still unknown.
[FCC]
NII Holdings, a Latin America based carrier has expressed interest in the possibility of purchasing Sprint's IDEN Network. Other private equity firms that have not been named have also expressed interest in the purchase. There are complications with the deal. Most notably the cost associated with separating the IDEN network from the rest of Sprint's business. Sprint is also wanting to unload a sizable amount do debt that they have incurred due to devaluation of the IDEN infrastructure.
{Wall Street Journal}
Sprint has added the Motorola i576 iDen device to its line up. The phone will support Direct Connect, Bluetooth, and GPS functionality. The device is also certified 810-F military durability standard. The phone will become available Oct 19th for $69.99 after discounts and rebates with a 2 year agreement. Sprint also hinted that they will debut several new iDen devices this fall, so keep checking back I will post more as details become available.
{SPRINT}
The Motorola i365 has just been cleared for sale in the United States. This new iDen device will sport GPS, Bluetooth, Push to View, and of course push to talk. This phone is also certified 810-f Military durability. Neither Motorola or a wireless carrier has announced plans to carry this phone. The style, design, and compatability suggest Sprint's iDen network.
Nothing has happened yet but Sprint is currently in talks to sell their iDen assets. Meanwhile Sprint has decided to cancel the sale of $3 Billion in preffered stock. Sprint may be very hard pressed to get anyone to buy their out-dated iDen assets. There are now faster, more reliable network technologies that can handle more capacity. Sprints iDen network is already over-loaded, and the former Nextel subscribers are leaving in droves. The purchase three years ago was valued at $35 billion, and it is said the current value of these assets has deeply depreciated to $5 Billion.
A letter to Keith Cowan, an executive in charge of strategy and development sheds a little bit of light on Sprints position on their iDen assets. In the letter, Cowan was offered a $1 Million bonus for the "strategic resolution of the iDen Network."
Pictured is the new Motorola i776. The phone has just gained approval by the FCC. The phone is the newest in Motorola's iDen line up. Included in the list of features you will find a camera, bluetooth, GPS, Push to Talk, and the feature that has been criticized everywhere on the blogosphere the antenna. iDen has never been known for having beautiful phones. The phones are known for best in class durability. The i776 like most iden capable phones is most likely bound for Sprints (formerly Nextel) iDen network, and Boost Mobile. I don't believe the addition of the external antenna is going to be a major deciding factor of this phone, as most iDen customers are used to dealing with the unsightly protrusion. I think that this phone will make a great addition to Sprints iDen handset family. You can find a couple of the posts blasting this phone below.
