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Sprint + Nextel = Sprint Nextel


Wed Dec 15, 2004 - 3:35 PM EST - By Marcus Adolfsson

Sprint and Nextel have agreed to merge in $35 billion deal that would create the nation's third largest wireless service provider. The new company will be called Sprint Nextel.

With this merger, Sprint will get access to Nextel's customer base of largely business customers. Over the next couple of years, Sprint Nextel plans to migrate the existing Nextel services, including push to talk service, to Sprint’s CDMA EV-DO network. Since Nextel's iDEN and Sprint's CDMA technology are incompatible, all current Nextel customers will need to get new phones.

palmOne needs to make a significant effort to get Sprint's Push-to-Talk service, ReadyLink, working on the Treo. In the UK, Orange is already offering a PTT solution for the Treo 600 based on software from Kodiak Networks.

With a strong PTT solution on the Treo, palmOne will be able to attract the influx of former Nextel customers.

The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2005.