Disqus
What do you do when you’re one of the biggest US wireless carrier (by subscriber count) and one of your network partners files suit against you for violating exclusivity agreements? Well, if you’re Sprint, and you’re desperately trying to get your WiMAX network off the ground, you get enough money together to straight up buy the smaller carrier partner. At least that’s what Sprint has done with the iPCS. Sprint has apparently bought out iPCS for $426 million, in addition to a $405 million debt assumption.
iPCS had been making noise over Sprint’s long-ago acquisition deal that brought Nextel into the fold. Sprint’s Nextel acquisition, said iPCS, violated an exclusivity deal that gave iPCS sole rights to use the Sprint brand in certain regions. Then, following Sprint’s deal to buy a 51% controlling stake in WiMAX carrier Clearwire, iPCS filed suit over their rights to the Sprint brand.
So, today, Sprint has announced that it will be buying iPCS outright. Part of the deal states that both parties will end any and all ongoing litigation between the two companies. The deal also allows Sprint to continue operations throughout the US without divesting any iDEN holdings in iPCS’s markets.
Now, about that WiMAX network going nationwide in the US…
[Via: Bloomberg]
About The Author
Will Park
Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...
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