As expected, Sprint Nextel has inked deals with the biggest cable providers in the nation. The deals are with: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Advance/Newhouse Communications. Together the four companies have over 41 million customers.
The joint venture, which is mutually exclusive for three years and has a 20-year term, calls for a combined initial financial commitment of $200 million, $100 million of which will be committed by Sprint and $100 million of which will be committed collectively by the cable companies. The investment is expected to be used to fund the development of the converged services, national marketing initiatives and back office integration. The companies contemplate additional participation from other cable companies.
Starting next year, the companies plan to offer a bundle that includes wireless phone service, provide more TV content to mobile phones and introduce co-branded wireless devices. Interestingly, these were not mobile virtual network deals.
Some of the converged services that were mentioned by Sprint Nextel are: