iDEN

Sprint Details Plans to Sunset Old Nextel Network; Move Could Pave Way for LTE

Ina Fried in Mobile on March 17, 2011 at 8:44 am PT

By shutting down the network it acquired when it bought Nextel, Sprint will free up spectrum that it could use to build an LTE network to augment its current WiMax-based 4G network.

Sprint-Nextel CEO Dan Hesse: "We Couldn't Wait" to Deploy LTE

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on December 7, 2010 at 4:05 pm PT

Asked in an interview at D: Dive Into Mobile why Sprint is deploying WiMax and not LTE as its 4G technology, Sprint-Nextel CEO Dan Hesse said it was the success of the iPhone that demonstrated that the market was ready for 4G services. “We wanted to be first, and WiMax was available” in 2008, Hesse said.

Motorola Unloads Infrastructure Unit on Nokia Siemens

John Paczkowski in News on July 19, 2010 at 5:02 am PT

Motorola has found a buyer for its network equipment business–a portion of it, anyway. Nokia Siemens Networks will pay $1.2 billion for most of Motorola’s network infrastructure operations, the companies announced Monday.

Sprint Nextel Silences iPCS

John Paczkowski in News on October 19, 2009 at 5:01 am PT

Wireless company iPCS is a legal thorn in Sprint’s side no longer. This morning, Sprint said it would acquire its litigious affiliate for $831 million, including the assumption of $405 million of net debt.

Sprint to Ericsson: Take My Network Operations…Please

John Paczkowski in News on July 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm PT

Sprint has found a novel way to improve its network operations: Turn them over to Ericsson. On Thursday, the wireless carrier announced a long-rumored plan to outsource its network to Ericsson.

Sprint to Rejuvenate Network No One Will Buy

John Paczkowski in News on October 31, 2008 at 8:24 am PT

Looks like Sprint is going to keep Nextel after all. Seems it views Nextel’s iDen walkie-talkie network as “a key differentiator” against rivals and plans to aggressively rejuvenate it. Never mind that Nextel might fetch as much as $5 billion that could be used in the company’s market share battle with Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Never mind that it has been hemorrhaging customers even faster than Sprint, adding to the company’s financial woes. Never mind that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse earlier this month said an iDEN sale was a possibility, telling reporters that “everything is on the table.”