Dish Bid For Sprint Could Revolutionize The Cable-Media-Telecom Industry

via businessinsider.com

In a surprise move, satellite-TV operator Dish Network has made a $26 billion bid for Sprint, the U.S.'s third-largest wireless operator.

Sprint is already in the approval process to sell a majority stake to Japanese telecommunications firm Softbank.

Dish's bid is higher than Softbank's and may therefore trigger a bidding war between the two suitors.

Dish has offered about $7 a share for Sprint, with a mix of cash ($4.74 per share) and $2.26-worth of Dish stock. Dish's stock fell about 5% on the news, and the total value of the offer will continue to fluctuate based on Dish's stock price. Dish estimated that the initial offer was worth about 13% more than Softbank's offer.

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Dish Network Makes $25.5 Billion Bid for Sprint Nextel

via mashable.com

Charging it will offer a "superior value for Sprint shareholders," Dish Network on Monday announced it was making a $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel.

Dish is offering Sprint shareholders $17.3 billion in cash plus $8.2 billion in stock. Dish's bid of $7 a share is a 12.5% premium over Sprint's closing price on Friday. However, Monday morning Sprint's shares were up about 15% to $7.18 on the news. Dish's bid comes as Japan's SoftBank in October agreed to buy a 70% stake in Sprint.

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Report: Sprint Will Get an All-Touchscreen BlackBerry That's Not the Z10

via gizmodo.com

We already heard that Sprint would launch BlackBerry's (maybe) QWERTY savior the Q10 sometime this year, but the company has bee very silent about the new flagship Z10, even as each AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all have already announced plans. Now, ATD reports that Sprint will get an all-touch screen phone that's not the Z10. Say what?

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Sprint buys up the rest of Clearwire for $2.2B

via gigaom.com

Sprint followed through on its bid to buy the remaining portion of Clearwire that it doesn’t own, and will spend $2.2 billion or $2.97 per share to complete the deal, the operator announced Monday. The deal by Sprint, which already owned 51.7 percent of Clearwire, values the 4G provider at about $10 billion, including net debt and spectrum lease obligations of $5.5 billion.

Sprint’s bid offers a 128 percent premium over Clearwire’s closing share price right before Sprint confirmed it was talking to Softbank about an investment on October 11. And it’s slightly more than the $2.90 a share Sprint offered last week, according to a regulatory filing. Softbank’s decision to invest $20.1 billion to buy a 70 percent stake in Sprint provided Sprint with $8 billion in cash, making the deal possible.

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Here’s what’s behind SoftBank’s $20.1B Sprint deal

via gigaom.com

Japanese mobile operator SoftBank plans to acquire a 70 percent stake in Sprint for $20.1 billion. The deal would give the cash-strapped U.S. carrier an $8 billion cash infusion and gives the Japanese carrier a foothold and spectrum in the valuable U.S. mobile market.

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Sprint says AT&T made the 'right decision'

via cnet.com

Christmas came early for Sprint today when AT&T announced that it was abandoning its controversial $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile.

In a statement released moments ago, Vonya B. McCann, Sprint's senior vice president of Government Affairs, said AT&T made the "right decision for consumers, competition and innovation in the wireless industry."

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Sprint rescues Clearwire with up to $1.6B in funding, revenues

via news.cnet.com

Clearwire made good on a $237 million interest payment due today and announced it has finalized a funding and resale agreement with Sprint Nextel worth up to $1.6 billion to keep the company afloat.

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Sprint creates mobile security alliance

via news.cnet.com

Sprint Nextel said today that it has formed a mobile security council to answer the growing threats to its customers and their smartphones.

The charter members include major technology players like IBM and Cisco Systems, security providers such as Lookout, and handset vendors Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility. Curiously, the group doesn't include Google or Apple, two of the major players in the wireless industry, nor does it include the other national wireless carriers.

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Sprint finally opens up on iPhone, 4G plans

via news.cnet.com

Earlier this month, Sprint Nextel's leadership team sat dumbfounded on stage as an increasingly contentious audience of investors questioned the company's strategy of pursuing its own 4G network alone.

The investor presentation, which came mere days after the unveiling of the iPhone 4S, was among the most raucous in recent memory. The agitation only grew when the executives refused to talk about the financial impact of the carrying the iPhone, which came at a hefty price. The meeting ended with the team, led by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, making a beeline for the exit.

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Sprint loss narrows as customer growth doubles

via news.cnet.com

Sprint Nextel posted a narrower third-quarter loss as customer growth improved ahead of getting the Apple iPhone.

The country's third-largest wireless provider reported a third-quarter loss of $301 million, or 10 cents a share, narrower than its year-earlier loss of $911 million, or 30 cents a share. Revenue rose 2 percent to $8.33 billion.

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Sprint’s iPhone 4S launch: ‘best ever day of sales’

via digitaltrends.com

Despite losses during the third quarter, Sprint says it gained a net total of 1.3 million subscribers ahead of the iPhone 4S launch, which the company calls the "best ever day of sales" in its history.

Sprint’s iPhone gamble has begun to pay off. The wireless provider announced today that its offering of Apple’s iPhone 4S “resulted in Sprint’s best ever day of sales in retail, web and telesales.” In addition, Sprint recorded lower losses than expected during its third fiscal quarter, which ended before the launch of the iPhone 4S on October 14.

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Sprint and Apple are having nationwide data speed problems

via digitaltrends.com

Sprint and Apple are facing slow data speed problems on the iPhone 4S. The speed issues are isolated to Sprint's version of the iPhone 4S and it does not seem to be effecting either AT&T or Verizon.

Apple’s latest phone, the iPhone 4S, has been breaking sale records left and right, but slowly but surely we are starting to hear a couple of unforeseen issues with the device. This week’s issue seems to be the data speed of the phone while using Sprint’s network. Last week there was a security scare involving Siri.

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Sprint ends unlimited 4G data for most devices

via technolog.msnbc.msn.com

Sprint is ending its unlimited 4G data offering for customers who use mobile broadband devices like tablets, netbooks, USB cards or mobile hotspot devices. Smartphone customers are not subject to the change, which takes effect in November.

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Slow iPhone 4S Data Speeds On Sprint

via businessinsider.com

Some Sprint customers have been reporting slow data speeds on their new iPhones since Friday.

MacRumors points to this thread on Sprint's own forums. It's full of anecdotal evidence of slow data speeds on Sprint when using the iPhone. A lot of the speeds reported are downright pitiful.

In some cases, other smartphones are able to achieve normal data speeds on Sprint from the same location, even though the iPhone can't.

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Sprint CEO: Wireless industry can help our troubled economy

via reviews.cnet.com

SAN DIEGO--Sprint Nextel Chief Executive Dan Hesse said the wireless industry can help get the troubled economy back on track.
"Mobile has a direct and powerful impact on efficiency, productivity, and the economic performance of any business in this country," Hesse said during his keynote address at the CTIA Enterprise & Application conference today.

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It's Official: Sprint Is Going LTE

via gizmodo.com

Sprint just made it official that they will be rolling out 4G LTE. They have said, essentially, that they will have 4G LTE everywhere they have 3G. It sounds like they're going all in. Developing and updating...

LTE deployment will begin in mid-year 2012, with the first 1900MHz devices in mid-2012. The rollout will largely be completed by 2013. They plan to get through 2014 with their 1900MHz spectrum, and if the LightSquared deal goes through, then the1600MHz spectrum will get them through 2015.

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Sprint Getting iPhone 5 Before AT&T And Verizon

via businessinsider.com

There's a crazy rumor on BGR right now, following WSJ's story that Sprint is betting the company on selling the iPhone.
BGR reports that an industry source says the redesigned iPhone 5 will launch this fall exclusively on Sprint. It will also run on the carrier's 4G network and have a thinner, sleeker design than the iPhone 4.
AT&T and Verizon will have to wait until early 2012 to get the iPhone 5. That device will run on their 4G LTE networks.

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Sprint commits to a $20 Billion order for iPhones

via news.cnet.com

Sprint Nextel paid a hefty price to finally get its hands on Apple's iPhone--to the tune of $20 billion.
That's according to a Wall Street Journal report, which details the lengths in which Sprint went to secure Apple's blockbuster device. BGR piles on by adding that Sprint's massive bet may have secured it the exclusive rights to the redesigned iPhone 5.
Sprint is willing to spend more than $20 billion for roughly 30 million iPhones over the next four years, WSJ reports.

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Sprint's 4G LTE Network Could Appear in Early 2012

via gizmodo.com

In anticipation of Sprint's 4G announcements on October 7, Cnet says the wireless carrier will flip the switch on their 4G LTE network early next year, with hopes of making it available to customers in Q2 2012.

Cnet cites unnamed sources in the article, but says that Sprint is currently building out the LTE network, which will undergo testing in select markets in the very early parts of next year, and then go live in the following months.

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Sprint says it can handle the iPhone traffic

via news.cnet.com

Sprint Nextel says it is ready to handle the iPhone, even if it isn't officially carrying it yet.

Sprint is watching the network and investing in the infrastructure as needed to ensure a good customer experience, regardless of the rumors, Chief Financial Officer Joe Euteneuer said during an investor conference yesterday. The comments were reported by Fierce Wireless.

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