Sprint Nextel in talks to sell iDen network: report

[Blue4Life]

Sprint Nextel in talks to sell iDen network: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel (S.N) is in talks to sell its iDen wireless network to either NII Holdings Inc (NIHD.O) or private equity investors, according to CNBC.

CNBC said on Friday that a sale of the network, which is used by public safety and construction workers, was not expected any time soon and did not name any sources for the report.

The news comes a day after the embattled No. 3 U.S. wireless service canceled a $3 billion convertible sale it had announced the day before. Sprint and NII were not immediately available for comment.

The report pushed Sprint shares up 6 percent, while NII shares were down about 1 percent. Analysts say a sale of the network, which it bought from Nextel Communications in August 2005, would be pose regulatory and operational difficulties as it has been closely integrated with Sprint's existing operations.

But they said Sprint, which is struggling to stem customer losses amid service problems, is looking at all options to improve its financial performance. "Every piece of the business is for sale at a certain price right now because they continue to struggle," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King.

Latin American service provider NII is one of the few operators around the world that uses the iDen technology, making it a logical candidate for an investment in the Sprint network. But King noted that an investment in the iDen network, rather than an outright purchase, could make better sense for NII, which operates in countries such as Mexico and Brazil that have faster wireless growth rates than the United States.

Stanford Group analyst Michael Nelson questioned whether Sprint would be able to find a private equity buyer in such a tough credit market. "Even if they want to sell iDen I don't think there's a buyer," Nelson said. Sprint shares rose 39 cents to $8.19 on New York Stock Exchange. NII shares were up 48 cents at $53.14 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Derek Caney)

[larry]

Originally Posted by Blue4Life

[b][u][b][size=3][Analysts say a sale of the network, which it bought from Nextel Communications in August 2005, would be pose regulatory and operational difficulties as it has been closely integrated with Sprint's existing operations.

Considering that thousands of Nextel cell sites have CDMA equipment mixed together and leased together now I'm sure it will be a challenge to figure how they could sell off the IDEN part.

[spleck]

I just don't see the timing being right for Sprint selling off the iDEN network. QChat does not yet have the same footprint as iDEN, which would affect the ability to keep Nextel customers. 800 MHz rebanding is not complete, and selling off the iDEN licenses would affect SN's ability to keep/acquire the PCS G block. Perhaps with those issues out the way, then they could manage a sale with equipment lease and usage aspects.

I wish Sprint was in a better financial position. Then they would be looking at ways to reuse the iDEN bandwidth (innovatively) once they can properly migrate customers to CDMA/QChat, rather than trying to see what they can sell off.

[AnthroMatt]

I think a sale would be embarrassing and a PR disaster. What Sprint should have done is come out with hybrid devices that used iDEN for voice and Direct Connect and 1900MHz EVDO CDMA for data (and voice if/when iDEN is not available).

Instead, Sprint chose a route that left all users of hybrid devices with the potential to be in places where they could make regular calls but not use DC or vice-versa. Which has to be even more maddening than no service at all....

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

this would make things easier for Sprint definitely but yes it would be a PR disaster....

it would be embarrassing because essentially Sprint is saying we tried this but we're giving up and they'll be one of the first to do so......but you hve to give them credit for trying

but everyone is right......with these synergy sites Sprint has bonded the CDMA and iDEN networks together too much and getting rid of one of them would result in the need for a lot of roaming agreements....

just let NII roam on the synergy towers for free or something.....but then again i guess that sounds naive and impractical

[Yugopro]

Does Nextel now work on 800?
Bet that would be a popular spectrum for someone.
Goes through buildings, just like superman.

[Mobile Mike]

So they're keeping Nextel, but attempting to unload iDEN???

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

that's actually exactly what theyre trying to do.......but it would make sense to do it after they've moved all the current Nextel customers to CDMA because if they make the sale now then they'll have to divest all those customers to NII which is something they can't afford

[larry]

I would hope they would hurry up and get a couple more synergy sites up before this happens.