Sprint sells 1.5 million iPhones, 1 million other smartphones, but makes a net loss of $767 million

Sprint 2012 Q3

Sprint's latest financials show that while the network is slowly stemming the flow of cash from its veins, it's not quite there in terms of turning a profit. The country's third biggest carrier suffered a $767 million net loss and an operating loss of $231 million -- much less than the $629 million operating loss it had in Q2, but on-par with the $208 million lost in the same period last year. The business did manage to bring in total revenues of $8.8 billion, but had to take a hit on a $397 million write-down on costs related to Network Vision and the continued pain of the Nextel shutdown.

On the customer size, it added a further 900,000 users, sold 1.5 million iPhones and a further 1 million "LTE smartphones" in the quarter. Those with long memories will know that the company sold the same number of Apple handsets in the last two quarters, with around 40 percent going to new customers then as now. However, churn, the deadly enemy of all carriers, increased to 1.88 percent, up from 1.69 percent in Q2. The network did manage to coax 59 percent of former Nextel customers to stay tied up with Big Yellow, which may account for it selling nearly 1.2 million Direct Connect devices. While it's hardly a rosy estimation of Sprint's financial health, this report doesn't take into account Softbank's $20.1 billion buy-out or the regained controlling stake in Clearwire -- so we're expecting the next financial announcement to contain some more exciting news.

Update: During the conference call, Dan Hesse was asked about adopting a shared data plan to rival Verizon and AT&T, but unlike the last call, he was dismissive of the idea.

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Sprint sells 1.5 million iPhones, 1 million other smartphones, but makes a net loss of $767 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 07:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint lights up new LTE markets in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Kansas and Texas

DNP Sprint lights up five new LTE markets in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Kansas and Texas

As Sprint continues to play an epic game of LTE catch up, the Now Network has officially flipped the 'on' switch for its 4G customers in the Chicago suburbs of: Addison, Bolingbrook, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Kankakee, Rockford, Joliet, Naperville, Palatine and Plainfield. Further expanding its not-so-mainstream LTE footprint are Gary, Indiana; Wichita Falls, Texas; New Bedford and Fall River, Massachusetts; and Hutchinson and McPherson, Kansas, too. While these aren't exactly the big markets that many were hoping for, it's good to see that America's third largest carrier is expanding its next-gen coverage for the less populous parts of the country. As for you big city folks patiently waiting for Hesse and company to call your number, rest assured that you haven't been forgotten. We're just hoping that Softbank's latest investment doesn't encounter any additional delays during its LTE rollout, because delays are for the birds.

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Sprint lights up new LTE markets in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Kansas and Texas originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion

Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $201 billion

In a joint press conference, Softbank has officially announced that it is buying a 70 percent stake in US mobile carrier Sprint for $20.1 billion. The Japanese company is paying $12.1 billion for existing shares, with a further $8 billion for new shares that the network is issuing. CNBC has reported previously that it would net Sprint around $3 billion in much-needed cash, which it could use to regain control of Clearwire and bolster its LTE rollout. When Dan Hesse took to the stage, he said that the company's heavy investment (both in Network Vision and in its iPhone gamble) would bring a "margin expansion" in 2014.

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Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of September 24th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany week of September 24th, 2012

If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Dan Hesse shared his turnaround vision for Sprint, Jim Allchin revealed where T-Mobile stumbled and AT&T welcomed a new GoPhone. Not to stop there, we discovered two updated launchers that've piled on inspiration from Jelly Bean. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of September 24th, 2012.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of September 24th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint marks 1 million LTE devices sold

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LTE handsets? Sprint's got 'em. And while the carrier's network deployment may be, well, a bit lacking at present, plenty of Now Network subscribers have been happy to pick up devices boasting the speedy technology. Speaking at a conference in New York, CEO Dan Hesse noted that Sprint has moved some one million LTE devices -- a number that's likely to keep growing, as the carrier continues to roll out coverage.

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Sprint marks 1 million LTE devices sold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dish Network rumored to have bought Clearwire’s $400 million debt in secret transaction

Dish Network rumored to have bought Clearwire's $400 million debt in secret transactionWe're not in the habit of entering the dry world of corporate debt notes, but Sprint's latest financial release might disguise a juicy bit of news. There's a rumor in the business press that Dish Network might have bought around $400 million of Clearwire's debt -- helping relieve the pressure on Sprint, which has been keeping its subsidiary alive on handouts. Unsurprisingly, no-one's commenting on the rumors, although Dish CEO Joseph Clayton did say he was open to a partnership (or acquisition) with Sprint / Clearwire late last year. If true, it could signal that it's getting ready for a fight against AT&T -- or maybe it just wanted to throw Dan Hesse a bone.

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Dish Network rumored to have bought Clearwire's $400 million debt in secret transaction originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming ‘very soon’ (update)

Sprint's Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming 'very soon' update

During Sprint's earnings call, CEO Dan Hesse revealed that Motorola's Photon Q, the company's latest LTE "world phone" is coming "very soon." The Photon Q is believed to be the Android 4.0-running QWERTY-slider you can see in the image above, but now that the company's head has let the cat out of the bag, we expect more details to roll around very shortly.

Update: Sprint's PR engine has kicked into gear, offering the deep dish on the new handset. It's a super-specced edition of last year's Photon 4G and will indeed offer a QWERTY-sliding experience on Ice Cream Sandwich. Beneath the 4.3-inch ColorBoost display you'll find a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera and NFC as well as Motorola's Smartactions application to help users extend battery life and anticipate your daily routines. Pricing and availability will be announced within the "next few weeks," but given how excited Dan Hesse sounded, we can't imagine we'll be waiting too long.

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Sprint's Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming 'very soon' (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s iPhone gamble isn’t paying off as 2012 Q2 figures reveal $629 million operating loss

Sprints iPhone gamble isnt paying off as 2012 Q2 figures reveal $14 billion loss

Sprint's second quarter figures have arrived, showing that the company's billion-dollar gamble on the iPhone isn't working right now. While it sold 1.5 million Apple-branded handsets in the three month period (40 percent to new and postpaid customers), it recorded an operating loss of $629 million and a colossal net loss of $1.4 billion -- compared to an operating loss of $255 million and a net loss of $863 million in the first quarter. Operating revenues of $8.8 billion improved on those in the first quarter by a single percent -- mostly due to higher service fees from its wireless offerings. It's also grown its cash reserves, up from $128 million last quarter to $267 million today, and can point to 442,000 postpaid and 141,000 new prepaid subscribers pushing the company's customer base up to 56 million nationwide -- mentioning that 60 percent of former Nextel users chose to remain with Sprint during the enforced change.

The figures reveal that Sprint's eating around $782 million due to the shutdown of the Nextel platform and a further $184 million to end leases on antenna sites for the moribund network. It's also having to take a hit of $204 million due to its investment into infrastructure partner Clearwire. It's affirmed its $1 billion lending facility, contingent upon purchasing gear from Ericsson to help build its LTE network, which it aims to have installed in 12,000 sites by the end of the year. Of course, that purchase was prompted by the collapse of Philip Falcone's doomed LightSquared project, which caused the Now Network to lose $66 million in cash and its childhood innocence when it comes to trusting other people.

Update: Big Yellow also mentioned that it has no plans to adopt a shared data plan to follow AT&T and Verizon.

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Sprint's iPhone gamble isn't paying off as 2012 Q2 figures reveal $629 million operating loss originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked Sprint slides reveal Touch Wallet NFC app, Google Wallet eyes the door

Sprint slides reveal Touch Wallet NFC app

Sprint is reportedly developing its own wallet app to rival that of Google Wallet, slides leaked to Android Central reveal. Entering a four-digit code opens your handset to make payments, while tapping an NFC reader will let you directly access your credit cards. Loyalty options are also included, with logos for Starbucks, Macy's and Barnes & Noble amongst others on the slides -- although it's unclear if there's an official partnership or we're looking at placeholder images. Given that Sprint is the only carrier that uses Mountain View's digital payments system, we can't see the move going down well the next time the pair go out for dinner.

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Leaked Sprint slides reveal Touch Wallet NFC app, Google Wallet eyes the door originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 06:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from CTIA with Jim Cramer and the CEOs of the four largest US carriers!

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In one corner, we have CNBC's Jim Cramer. And in the other corner stands the heads of the four largest mobile operators in the United States: Ralph de la Vega (AT&T Mobility), Dan Mead (Verizon Wireless), Dan Hesse (Sprint) and Philipp Humm (T-Mobile). We fully expect Jim to lob a few hardball questions at these gentlemen, and there's no doubt zingers will be flung around. Who knows -- maybe we'll even get some news out of this keynote, so join us as we liveblog the Tuesday afternoon CTIA keynote, won't you?

May 8, 2012 5:30 PM EDT

Live from CTIA with Jim Cramer and the CEOs of the four largest US carriers! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 17:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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