Sprint to the bottom

28 July 2011 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

The No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier is understandably working hard to block AT&T’s $39 bln takeover of TMobile. But Sprint has bigger problems. Miserable Q2 results and the resulting loss of over $2 bln of market value suggest Sprint has few ideas about how to stop its long slide.

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Sprint on July 28 reported a loss of $847 million in the quarter ending June 30. It lost $760 million in the same period last year. The number three U.S. wireless carrier also lost more than 100,000 customers on monthly plans.

At the same time, Sprint announced a 15year agreement with new wireless venture LightSquared. It will pay Sprint about $9 billion in cash and $4.5 billion in credits to build out its network. Sprint will then pay LightSquared for use of the network. The agreement is conditional on the company resolving the network's potential interference with GPS devices.

Sprint's stock fell 18 percent on July 28.

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