Cell Fun

Sprint Nextel has agreed to sell nearly all its cell phone towers to a private-equity-backed firm called TowerCo in a deal that will generate about $670 million in cash for the struggling wireless carrier.

The nation’s third-largest wireless provider said Wednesday it plans to lease space on the towers for its wireless phone and broadband operations, which it said was cheaper than owning the towers outright.

In recent years, wireless carriers have moved away from owning their own cellphone towers. Instead, companies like American Tower and Crown Castle International and smaller players like TowerCo have taken over ownership of towers and leased them to carriers.

“By leasing rather than owning these network facilities, we can better focus on our core business of providing communications services to consumers, businesses and government customers,” said Bob Azzi, senior vice president, Field Engineering and Operations, Sprint Nextel. “Significantly, this transaction provides Sprint Nextel with additional liquidity which gives us greater flexibility in managing our company.”

Sprint Nextel said it will finalize the number of towers being sold and the price when the sale closes within 90 days.

Related News Articles

• Palm Treo 800w EV-DO, Wi-Fi Smartphone Released for Sprint
• Samsung Instinct Launches June 20 for Sprint, Priced at $129
• Sprint to Launch Advanced Push-To-Talk Phones
• Sprint’s Loss Widens, Fewer Subscribers
• Sprint, Google Expand Mobile Partnership

©2002-2008 Mobiledia Corp. A Cell Phone Resource Site. All Rights Reserved. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only.

AP - Railroad giant CSX said it has asked two nominees of activist hedge fund shareholders TCI and 3G Capital to join its board, but said it will await a vote review and court action before seating its two remaining members.

AP - Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and other handset makers rose along with the broader market Friday following Samsung Electronics’ report that its mobile phone sales rose 22 percent in the second quarter.

AP - Railroad giant CSX said it has asked two nominees of activist hedge fund shareholders TCI and 3G Capital to join its board, but said it will await a vote review and court action before seating its two remaining members.

AP - South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said Friday that second-quarter net profit grew 51 percent compared with the same quarter last year led by its liquid crystal display and mobile phone businesses.

Reuters - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS)
posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and faces a tough
second half with a sluggish memory chip market and lower
margins in flat screens and mobile phones.

PC World - When Samsung Electronics, a giant in chips, mobile phones and LCD panels, reported earnings on Friday, it noted worsening…

PC World - Google may use a user-driven rating system to help keep bad or harmful Android applications off mobile phones.

Reuters - The once media-shy Taliban have gone
hi-tech with DVDs, mobile phone messages, ring-tones, emails
and a website to publicize their exploits and lambast their
Afghan and Western enemies, a think-tank said on Thursday.

AFP - The number of mobile users in China, the world’s biggest cellphone market, now tops 600 million, the government said, as subscribers increasingly abandon fixed lines.