Sprint Nextel: A House Divided

The consensus: 'Ma Bell is back'

(NEWSER) - Reactions to the surprise AT&T-T-mobile merger are pouring in, and, not surprisingly, most conclude this isn't a good thing for consumers:

• The Bell telephone system—"aka AT&T"—was broken up in 1984 to increase competition, and the US telecommunications market was deregulated in 1996, again to increase competition. But this merger "effectively restores Ma Bell to her former girth yet allows the company to operate in a looser regulatory environment," writes David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times . "Consumers might wonder if they've been played. ... Ma Bell is back," and the only thing left for federal regulators to do is instill "new rules that address the shortcomings of our failed experiment in deregulation."

3rd-largest wireless outfit has lost millions of subscribers

(AP) - Sprint Nextel is eliminating about 8,000 positions in the first quarter as it seeks to cut annual costs by $1.2 billion. The third-largest US wireless provider said it will complete the layoffs, about 14% of its 56,000 employees, largely by March 31. About 850 of the reductions are voluntary and the company said it expected a first-quarter charge of more than $300 million for severance and other costs. More»

Former CEO's Nextel legacy remains divisive

(NEWSER) - A bid by SK Telecom and Providence Equity to invest $5B in Sprint Nextel and install former Sprint chairman Tim Donahue as the company CEO has met with swift rejection from the Sprint board. The move comes as Sprint, which has seen its stock plumet 36% since June, searches for a new CEO, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Network loses most customers since Nextel merger

(NEWSER) - Sprint Nextel subscribers jumped ship this quarter, taking the stumbling wireless giant’s profits with them. Profit fell 77% this quarter, Bloomberg reports, as 337,000 contract customers departed, the biggest exodus since the Nextel merger. The company said it would miss its 10% growth goal next year. “Their whole strategy is in disarray,” said one analyst, calling the outlook “pretty dismal.” More»

Beleaguered No. 3 must 'do fewer things very well' to stem declines

(NEWSER) - Last week's abrupt departure of Sprint's CEO capped the third-place company's struggles with its 2005 acquisition of Nextel, declining share price, and massive customer losses. Interim chief Paul Saleh tells the Washington Post he has a plan to get back to basics that he says will include rallying his workforce and focusing on doing fewer things, but doing them very well. More»