Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel Corporation is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. With 55 million subscribers, Sprint Nextel operates the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States (based on total wireless customers), behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Sprint is a global Tier 1 Internet carrier, and, as such, makes up a portion of the Internet backbone. In the United States, the company also operates the second largest wireless broadband network and is the third largest long distance provider.

The company was created in 2005 by the $35 billion purchase of NEXTEL Communications by Sprint Corporation. In 2006, the company spun off its local landline telephone business, naming it Embarq and also completed the $6.5 billion acquisition of Nextel Partners, one of its largest affiliates, which primarily provides Nextel wireless services to more rural markets.

Sprint Nextel has its executive headquarters in Reston, Virginia and maintains an operational and engineering headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas (where the largest number of Sprint Nextel employees are based). Both internally and externally, "Sprint" is an acceptable short name for the company; however, all "walkie-talkie" phones currently being shipped are still branded with the Nextel logo and graphics.

On December 15, 2004, Sprint and NEXTEL announced they would merge to form Sprint Nextel Corporation. While billed as a merger of equals, the transaction was actually the purchase of NEXTEL Communications by Sprint Corporation. At the time of the merger announcement Sprint and NEXTEL were the No. 3 and No. 5 leading providers in the US mobile phone industry.

Sprint shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger on July 13, 2005. The merger deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Department of Justice on August 3, 2005. The FCC placed a condition on the merger that Sprint Nextel is to provide wireless service within the 2.5 GHz band within the next four years. Sprint Nextel was officially formed on August 12, 2005, when the deal was completed.

Sprint and NEXTEL both faced opposition to the merger, mostly from regional affiliates that provide wireless services on behalf of the companies. These regional affiliates felt that the new company would be violating non-compete agreements that the former companies had made with the affiliates.

Nextel is known for its free incoming call plan. However, since the merger Nextel Customers are now able to convert their plans to the Sprint side, and Sprint Customers can convert their accounts to the Nextel side. Both changes would require purchasing new phone equipment; however, Sprint Nextel may buy back fairly new but used cell phones for up to $50.

On September 1, 2005, Sprint Nextel combined plan offerings of its Sprint PCS and Nextel brands to bring more uniformity across the company's offerings.

Popular features from each side have been incorporated into the other - Sprint now offers Free Incoming plans, and Nextel did for a time offer Fair & Flexible plans, but both Sprint and Nextel have since replaced those with the newer Power Pack plans (Both family and individual plans are available). This changed the overage fees to a set per minute charge ranging from $0.25 to $0.45, rather than buying 'buckets' of minutes like the Fair & Flexible plans. This move was likely the result of Sprint seeking to reduce voluntary customer churn by matching the plans offered by Cingular and Verizon, which have almost identical plan rates to the Power Pack plans offered by Sprint. In March and April 2007, Sprint offered to many existing customers whose initial contract obligations had expired discounts in return for signing new two-year contracts, in another apparent effort to reduce customer churn (especially since there have been some customer service glitches surrounding the merger).