Sprint sales company owned cellular towers to third-party

[wjrandon]

The operation and maintenance of Sprint's cellular network towers will be taken over by TowerCo Inc. the cellular company announced today, in a deal which is wildly expected to close within 90 days. TowerCo paid $670 million for about 3,300 CDMA and IDEN towers. In exchange, the company has signed a long-term lease with Sprint for their use.

Sources also indicate a sale of the Nextel division is also being considered.

By outsourcing the upkeep of its network to another party, Sprint expects to save money in the long run and better focus on its customers. This is part of a growing trend amoung leading US cellular operators such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless have already sold off some of their towers to TowerCo and simular tower mantainance firms -- such as American Tower and Crown Castle International -- "Significantly, this transaction provides Sprint Nextel with additional liquidity which gives us greater flexibility in managing our company," Sprint's head of field engineering and operations Bob Azzi said in a statement. Most of the Sprint-owned towers are located in large metropolitan markets, which makes them very valuable to the owner.

More reading: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-9998824-94.html