Rumor: Sprint to spin off Nextel

Together no more?

Rumors are swirling today over the future of Sprint. First off, Seeking Alpha is reporting that Sprint has hired Morgan Stanley for a possible spin-off of its Nextel brand. Sprint's ongoing troubles have been widely reported over the last few months and many analysts have named the 2006 merger between Sprint and Nextel as a key cause of the carrier's ongoing troubles. With that in mind, a spin-off of Nextel may be surprising, but it wouldn't be so shocking.

But that's not the only Sprint dish going around today. The Kansas City Star said that Merrill Lynch analysts are predicting that Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile USA, is considering buying Sprint. The joining of a CDMA and a GSM carrier seems a bit unlikely, but after Sprint scooped up Nextel I can believe just about anything. Yet what would seem more probable is a Verizon Wireless acquisition of Sprint. But as the Wall Street Journal points out, Verizon should just concentrate on sucking away Sprint's customers. Verizon already decided in 2004 not to buy Sprint so the Journal can't find a reason why it should try again.

In any case, Sprint needs to do something to revive its business. But what exactly should it be? What do you think? Do any of the above options sound like a good idea?

[DrNezzy]

Back on track...

I would definitely say that Sprint's new unlimited plan is a great start to getting back on the right track. Considering that if I weren't already a SERO customer, I could get unlimited voice, messaging, data, and other bonuses for a great deal less than Verizon's voice and "unlimited" data, they're headed in the right direction.

This and the fact that I've never had a problem with getting great service for Sprint here in SC where others seem to have network issues.

[daren.darrow]

Perhaps Alltel would buy Sprint?

I always assumed that Alltel would eventually buy U.S. Cellular. But if Sprint if up for grabs, then--if Alltel can get the capital--Alltel could truely have a nationwide network and not rely on Sprint and Verizon as much with roaming deals.

Another thought would be an Alltel/Verizon joint venture where Alltel buy it and split the markets with Verizon. Alltel keeps most of the network, but spins off the markets where their existing network is in place (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Kansas, etc), and then keep the coastal and mountain area where Verizon already has it's network.