nextel

Starting June 15, Sprint's new Chat will be off and running in more than 40 markets nationwide. For those not in the know, QChat offers push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability between CDMA and iDEN networks for the first time. That means that customers using the new QChat phones will be able to make PTT calls to both Sprint CDMA phones and Nextel iDEN handsets.

Sprint unveiled six QChat handsets at the CTIA show two months ago Four models, the Sanyo Pro 200, Sanyo Pro 700, the LG LX400, and the Samsung Z400, will go on sale Sunday with the remaining two … Read more

Six technology heavyweights came together Monday to announce an alliance to jointly license patents for the broadband wireless technology WiMax.

The group, which calls itself the Open Patent Alliance, includes Intel, Cisco Systems, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel, Clearwire, and Alcatel-Lucent. The intent of the group is to gather rights to WiMax patents and license them to makers of consumer electronics devices, networking equipment, and computers.

During a Webcast Monday, executives from each of the six companies emphasized the openness of the alliance that was being created. And the companies said they hoped other companies would join the group.

"As … Read more

It's mobile or bust for cable operators that seem to be trying anything and everything to get into the wireless market.

One of the biggest shifts over the next decade in the cable market is likely to be a move toward wireless services. As cable operators face stiff competition from phone companies, cable operators large and small are looking for ways to take their services mobile.

Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S., talked up his company's investment in a new joint venture to blanket the country with 4G, or fourth-generation, wireless … Read more

Sprint Nextel's plan to spin off its WiMax network and form a $14.5 billion joint venture with Clearwire may have hit a speed bump.

On Monday iPCS, Sprint Nextel's largest affiliate, said it will try to block the deal that was announced last week. iPCS, which serves 640,600 subscribers in seven states, said three of its subsidiaries have filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois against Sprint for violating an exclusivity contract.

Sprint Nextel is spinning off its 2.5 GHz assets to form a joint venture with Clearwire. The new company, called Clearwire, … Read more

Sprint Nextel subscribers continue to jump ship, as the company's sales decline and losses widen.

The company has been struggling for several quarters as customers have complained of poor service, especially from its Nextel division. Sprint bought Nextel for $35 billion in 2005, and the merger has largely been a failure, costing the company billions of dollars to integrate while causing the company to also lose millions of newly dissatisfied customers. Many Nextel customers have complained of poor service and a lack of handset choices.

Investors have been pushing the company to sell assets and focus on its core … Read more

The deal to merge Sprint Nextel's WiMax business unit with Clearwire to build a nationwide 4G network is finally complete, but the newly formed company could be doomed before it even gets out of the gate.

On Wednesday the companies said they would combine the two entities to form a new company, called Clearwire. Cable companies Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House Networks, along with technology giants Intel and Google, are contributing a combined $3.2 billion, bringing the total investment in the company to $14.5 billion.

In many ways the new venture is a win-win situation for … Read more

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are combining network assets to build a new nationwide 4G wireless network that the companies say has huge benefits for each of them.

Until now, Sprint and Clearwire have been on separate paths to build nationwide broadband wireless networks using WiMax, an IP technology that can blanket entire cities and provides more than five times the speed of 3G wireless networks. Now they are joining forces and creating a new company that will have access to more wireless spectrum than any other company in the entire country.

Cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House … Read more

Qwest Communications International is ending its relationship with Sprint Nextel and has struck a new deal to resell wireless service through Verizon Wireless.

The company said Monday that it plans to resell wireless service from Verizon Wireless starting this summer. The companies have signed a five-year contract. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Qwest has been reselling Sprint's wireless service since 2004 under its own brand. A spokesman for the phone company said it will continue to service customers on the Sprint network until its contract expires with Sprint in February 2009. Current customers will be given … Read more

Update at 4:07 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, May 7: This article has been updated to reflect the official announcement.

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire will create a new joint venture that will combine both companies' WiMax assets to create a nationwide broadband wireless network, the companies said Wednesday.

The deal, which will be valued at about $14.5 billion, is being backed by cable operators Comcast and Time Warner, as well as Intel and Google.

News of the deal was earlier reporter in The Wall Street Journal.

The new joint venture has raised a total of $3.2 billion … Read more