TIA Member Spotlight:
Sprint Nextel (www.sprint.com) is a service provider offering a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two  robust wireless networks serving more than 51 million customers at the end of third quarter 2006; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internet backbone.Atish Gude, Senior Vice President Corporate Strategy and Broadband, spoke with PulseOnline staff about the history of Sprint Nextel and the services it offers
- Please give us a brief history of Sprint Nextel and tell our readers about your typical clientele.
Sprint and Nextel came together in August 2005 to form Sprint Nextel with a clear vision of focusing on mobility services to provide a simple, instant, enriching and productive customer experience. Sprint Nextel has the financial strength, the right assets and the right strategies to enable consumer, business and government customers to do what they want, when they want and where they want – three things that define mobility. We at Sprint Nextel have pride in our bold and entrepreneurial heritage, and we’ll continue to open new doors for our customers and our industry.
Sprint provides consumers with high-quality voice and data applications through innovative services such as Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, Sprint Family Locator and Picture Mail. Small and large business and government customers benefit from industry-leading walkie-talkie and location-based services as well as custom network solutions and unique mobile applications. As Sprint continues to invest in its network, leading the way with its EV-DO Revision A deployment and plans for an advanced 4G wireless broadband network, customers will have the power to do even more with Sprint.
- Sprint Nextel recently announced a 4G wireless broadband initiative with Intel, Motorola and Samsung. Tell the readers more about this announcement and how it will benefit your customers as we see continued investment in mobile wireless technologies and services.
As part of our continued innovation and leadership in network deployments, Sprint will build a next-generation advanced wireless services network that will help the company realize its broadband vision, which goes beyond traditional telecommunications and the traditional Internet. As evidenced by its leading data revenue, Sprint’s customers have already demonstrated great demand for current high-speed data services, and the creation of a new complementary consumer electronic device ecosystem will enable them to do more in their personal and professional lives through converged offerings in voice, data, video and multi-media solutions on a variety of integrated devices on an intelligent network.
This next-generation platform, supported by mobile WiMAX (802.16e) technology, will become the most powerful nationwide wireless broadband network, with more than 4X throughput performance improvement over current networks, and the largest deployment of such an advanced platform in the world. Sprint’s partnerships with Intel, Samsung and Motorola will foster the rapid deployment and adoption of mobile WiMAX in the U.S. and beyond, providing customers with broader mobility services. Sprint’s deployment plans target a launch in trial markets by the end of 2007, with plans to deploy a network that reaches as many as 100 million people in 2008.
- You recently launched new dynamic positioning and a new advertising campaign aimed at showing your customers that “Sprint Gives Customers the Power.” Elaborate on this and how this benefits both your company and your customers in today’s competitive marketplace.
Sprint has introduced a new approach to its brand positioning to more clearly communicate Sprint’s differentiation in a competitive marketplace, giving customers and prospects clear reasons why they should choose Sprint. Sprint’s new advertising campaign focuses on “passing the power on to customers” through the three core attributes of network, value and innovation. Sprint’s mission is to give the power back to customers so they can enjoy great value and unmatched wireless capabilities on our powerful networks.
- In today’s society, we are seeing more and more demand for ways to get work done faster in the office, at home and “on the go.” Mobile wireless broadband is key to making this happen. Tell us more about Sprint’s mobile broadband network and how it is unique from other mobile wireless broadband networks being provided by other carriers. How does it benefit the consumer in today’s ever-changing global communications marketplace?
Sprint’s goal is to extend the workplace, giving professionals the power to make anyplace a workplace, utilizing more innovative mobile applications as well as leading walkie-talkie and location-based services. No one has a more powerful network than Sprint, with the nation’s largest mobile broadband network (Power Vision NetworkSM), which reaches more than 168 million people in 219 major markets nationwide today. And by the end of 2006, that number is expected to reach 200 million people.
Sprint is also making investments in the future and is the only carrier to begin rolling out EV-DO Revision A. The faster data rates provided by Revision A can enable richer applications and services such as high-speed video telephony, music on demand, video messaging, large file uploads and high performance push-to-talk capability. This network upgrade is expected to reach 40 million people by the end of 2006 and expand to its entire Power Vision Network to the faster EVDO REV A technology by Q3 2007.
- Sprint Nextel was recently ranked in the 103rd spot on the 2006InformationWeek 500 roster of the most innovative users of business technology. Explain how this helps strengthen Sprint Nextel’s drive for leadership in delivering mobility solutions for consumers and businesses.
Sprint’s recognition from InformationWeek illustrates the continued technical, procedural and organizational innovation that helps drive Sprint’s communications services leadership and creates an enhanced customer experience. Sprint Nextel was recognized for applying its revolutionary programming model called Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to telecommunications. SOA uses a Web-based open development platform to facilitate service creation and integration, leading to benefits for application developers. Information technology is a strategic enabler for Sprint, fostering pioneering product research and development as well as efficient billing systems and service – all factors that lead to a highly compelling mobility lifestyle for customers.
- One of the services Sprint offers its customers is mobile sports content applications such as NFL Mobile and NFL.com Fantasy Companion. How does this benefit your business and what other wireless data services and applications do you anticipate will drive the wireless market moving forward?
Sprint provides fast, easy, anytime access to news, sports, weather, music, e-mail, GPS directions and much more right in the palm of your hand. NFL Mobile, exclusively from Sprint, is what all football fans should have on their mobile phone. The free wireless application takes advantage of Sprint’s Power Vision Network, which delivers the highest quality multimedia experience and unmatched data capabilities such as real-time game scores, news, stats, injury reports, live feed of NFL Network, exclusive video-on-demand highlights and other information about every team in the league.
Sprint leads the industry with its wireless data services, earning the highest average data revenue per subscriber, which illustrates customers’ growing demand to do more with their mobile phones. Continuing its leadership, Sprint recently introduced Sprint Power View, the first permanent, made-for-mobile video programming network that’s designed to provide a mobile entertainment destination for our increasingly mobile lifestyles. Sprint will continue to introduce new and unique wireless data services and applications to further its mobility leadership and enhance the wireless customer experience.
- Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers?
We are just now beginning to see the tip of the iceberg in terms of the benefits our customers will realize from the merger of Sprint and Nextel. Unprecedented and exciting times are ahead for our customers as we further the development and capabilities of mobility services.
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