[99semaj]

Sprint has "bet the company" on Apple's iPhone, according to The Wall Street Journal, and has agreed upfront to purchase 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years, a commitment of nearly $20 billion.

I won't quote the original link, since it's paywalled, but here is a link that sums it up.

A pretty gutsy move to be sure, since they are committing to the same runrates as AT&T and Verizon, but they need to do something to stem the tide of users leaving them to get an iPhone. Sprint claims it is their #1 reason they lose customers.

On a side note, this would open the door to Canadian AWS carriers getting the iPhone too.

 

[james99]

The market reacted with a 10% decline in the stock.

 

[BGY11]

Sprint doesn't use AWS. They use CDMA and WiMax. Since T-Mobile already said they aren't going to carry the iPhone yet, then I wouldn't expect an AWS-enabled iPhone for us.

 

[99semaj]

^^^^
Right, my bad.

Re: the 10% stock drop, that's fair punishment for such a seemingly desparate management move, but minor compared to the 50% drop they've had in recent weeks. Sprint is running itself into the ground in a big hurry.

 

[james99]

Isn't Sprint the only major US provider with an unlimited data plan?

If so, sales should be good but I doubt that plan will exist for much longer or the network will come to its knees.

 

[TorontoColin]

T-Mobile also has a throttled unlimited data plan, similar to Wind Mobile. This is a big gamble for Sprint as they're basically betting that they'll sell nothing but iPhones for the next 5 years. If they find that the iPhone slips in popularity within the next 5 years, they've basically screwed themselves.

 

[audacity]

I see this as Sprint making a big bet. This is how I read their motivations: Sprint is in trouble, and they need a big win, which requires big bets. It could pay off (big time) for them, or it could sink them.

The reason to take these big risks is that if they instead were to continue with their current path it will be a slow death for the company.