Sprint-Nextel

Sprint Nextel on Thursday announced that is has tapped former Eastman Kodak executive Robert Brust, 64, to be its next chief financial officer.

The beleaguered wireless carrier, which hired a new CEO at the end of last year, has made several management changes as it tries to get its business back on track. It has been struggling to retain customers since its 2005 merger with Nextel.

In January, Sprint said it was searching for a new finance chief. Company controller William Arendt has been acting as interim CFO since Paul Saleh left that position in January.

Brust has a long … Read more

Comcast said Wednesday it has changed its mind on a joint wireless communication venture with Sprint-Nextel, according to a Reuters report.

The service, called Pivot, was begun as a partnership between the cable giant, Sprint, Time Warner, Cox Communications, and Advanced/Newhouse Communications in 2006. It offered a package of services, including TV, broadband, and both a landline and wireless phone service.

"We decided to discontinue the service because the product required a lot of operational complexities, so we decided it wasn't the approach we wanted for the long term," said a Comcast spokesperson.

Well, that's … Read more

Over the last few months, mobile operators have been falling over each other to profess their networks as "open," but a closer look at what they're really doing suggests they have a long way to go.

Traditionally, mobile phone operators have kept a tight grip on their networks. They have determined which phones could be used, what applications could be accessed, which features were enabled, and where subscribers could go on the Internet. But over the past year, Internet companies like Google and Skype have joined with consumer groups to lobby lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission … Read more

Sprint's Samsung Instinct has taken center stage as CTIA, but the carrier has more to offer in Las Vegas. Monday it also unveiled its first series of QChat phones (see our Sprint QChat slide show for the eye candy), which for the first time offer push-to-talk interoperability between CDMA and iDEN networks. There's no mishmash of competing technologies here. The QChat phones make and receive PTT calls through Nextel's Direct Connect service. Oh, and incidentally, QChat marks the final nail in the coffin of Sprints previous ReadyLink PTT service.

The first two QChat handsets to hit stores … Read more

Updated 12:30 p.m. PDT with comment from the Open Internet Coalition.

LAS VEGAS--It seems mobile operators have dodged a regulatory bullet by promising to open up their networks on their own.

On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he was rewarding U.S. wireless operators for their efforts to open up their networks by not pushing for more regulation.

During a keynote address here at the CTIA tradeshow, Martin said he is going to circulate an order among the FCC commissioners to dismiss Skype's petition to apply Carterfone rules to the wireless industry. The Carterfone … Read more

It's that time of year again when U.S. cell phone executives gather at the semi-annual CTIA Wireless trade show to show off new products and hobnob with each other. But this year it seems like some companies are working extra hard to clear the air before they hit the Las Vegas show floor.

Trade shows are typically where companies make new product announcements. And while I'm sure there will be some new handsets and services announced at CTIA, my feeling is that some of the more troubled companies like Sprint Nextel and Motorola, will use the conference … Read more

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are looking to help bankroll a new joint venture between Sprint Nextel and Clearwire to deliver 4G wireless services, according to a report in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

According to unnamed sources, the companies are discussing a plan to provide funding for a new wireless company that would be operated by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire. The new company would use network spectrum and assets from both companies to form a nationwide wireless network using WiMax.

Last summer, Sprint and Clearwire announced they'd be working together to build a nationwide network. In November, they … Read more

Apple’s iPhone SDK Strategy Both Promotes and Stifles Innovation http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030700060.html

iPhone SDK, Apple’s Touch Platform, and The Next Two Decades http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/ 900-iphone-sdk-apples-touch-platform-and-the-next-two-decades

FAQ: What does the iPhone SDK mean? http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9888281-7.html

Rumor: Sprint will spin off Nextel http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9888321-7.html

Air Force Cyber Command Wants Intarwebs Supremacy (Thanks Jacob!) http://gizmodo.com/365042/ air-force-cyber-command-wants-intarwebs-supremacy

Analysts say T-Mobile may acquire Sprint http://www.kansascity.com/382/story/519407.html

Report: Google, Microsoft, and two … Read more

Rumors are swirling today over the future of Sprint. First off, Seeking Alpha is reporting that Sprint has hired Morgan Stanley for a possible spin-off of its Nextel brand. Sprint's ongoing troubles have been widely reported over the last few months and many analysts have named the 2006 merger between Sprint and Nextel as a key cause of the carrier's ongoing troubles. With that in mind, a spin-off of Nextel may be surprising, but it wouldn't be so shocking.

But that's not the only Sprint dish going around today. The Kansas City Star said that Merrill … Read more