Sprint — always the bridesmaid, never the bride — is trying to figure out what to do after AT&T announced a deal to buy T-Mobile (before AT&T’s announcement, Sprint was talking about buying T-Mobile). Last week, Sprint was saying there’s no way this deal can go through. Now, we see the company is in talks to rent out part of its network to new wireless carriers like LightSquared and Clearwire Corp. If Sprint goes through with this, it would mean that LightSquared gets access to Sprint’s network, and Sprint gets access to LightSquared’s (controversial) network (the FCC has said the company has to figure out how to make sure its network won’t interfere with GPS before it can move forward).
That spectrum, particularly in rural areas, could eventually let Sprint cut back on money it pays to competitors like Verizon to roam on their networks in areas where Sprint lacks coverage, a person familiar with the matter said.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
