Sprint Has a “Plan B” if Clearwire Deal Isn’t Made
Dan Hesse – speaking in an interview today – stated that talks with Clearwire are still going on and that they are nearing a deal. Sprint and Clearwire have been disputing over the charges the latter party has been imposing for providing the former with a 4G network.
The lack of an agreement has forced Sprint to go to such extremes as charging 3G phone users the same $10 data premium that only 4G device users were previously subject to. Many of Sprint’s customers are still without 4G as a result of the two sides’ dispute, so it’s believed Sprint included 3G subscribers to prevent a class action lawsuit.
We heard before that Sprint may be forced to switch to LTE once they’re forced out of their current spectrum being used for 4G. Their new spectrum would only support LTE. Murmurs also surfaced saying they were in talks with LightSquared, the company who would be freeing up that new spectrum currently used by satellites specifically for LTE.
CEO Dan Hesse reportedly said that “Our Plan A is together with Clearwire, but we do have a Plan B. If we don’t reach agreement, we will go and do our own thing.” That quote all but confirms Sprint is talking with SOMEONE to make sure they have a road to travel on going forward, whether Clearwire’s on the wagon or not.
What do you guys want to happen? Do you want Sprint to try and settle things with Clearwire or are you hoping that these negotiations take a wrong turn down 4G lane? [Wall Street Journal]