Sprint - Nextel 2005 Annual Report Download - page 19

commercially in the second quarter 2005, and at December 31, 2005 EV-DO was deployed in markets where
about half of the U.S. population lives or works. We will continue to introduce EV-DO in additional markets in
2006.
The cell site equipment used in the CDMA network resides on space on communications towers. Although we
own many of these towers, in May 2005, we closed a transaction whereby we provided Global Signal Inc. with
the exclusive rights to lease or operate more than 6,600 of our communication towers for a negotiated lease term
that is the greater of the remaining terms of the underlying ground leases or up to 32 years, assuming successful
re-negotiation of the underlying ground leases at the end of their current lease terms. We have committed to
sublease space from Global Signal on approximately 6,400 of these towers for a minimum of ten years. We have
erected additional communications towers to expand the capacity and coverage of our CDMA network. The
acquisition of Nextel has given us access to cell site communications towers erected for use in connection with
the Nextel iDEN network, which in many cases will enable us to co-locate CDMA cell site equipment on these
towers, instead of requiring us to erect new towers or co-locate the equipment on towers owned by third parties,
which we expect will reduce our costs. Similarly, we will also be able to co-locate iDEN cell site equipment on
the CDMA communications towers.
iDEN Network
We provide our Nextel post-paid and Boost Mobile prepaid wireless services over our iDEN network. Our iDEN
network is an all-digital packet data network based on iDEN wireless technology provided by Motorola, Inc. We,
together with Nextel Partners, are the only national wireless service provider in the U.S. that utilizes iDEN
technology, and, generally, the iDEN handsets that we currently offer are not enabled to roam onto wireless
networks that do not utilize iDEN technology. We, together with Nextel Partners, operate iDEN networks that
serve 297 of the top 300 U.S. markets where about 270 million people live or work. Nextel Partners provides
digital wireless communications services under the Nextel brand name in mid-sized and tertiary U.S. markets,
and has the right to operate in 98 of the top 300 metropolitan statistical areas in the United States ranked by
population. As discussed above, we will acquire Nextel Partners when the required regulatory approvals are
obtained.
We have roaming or interoperability agreements with iDEN-based wireless service providers that operate in
Latin America and Canada. We have entered into interoperability agreements with NII Holdings, Inc., which
provides for coordination of customer identification and validation necessary to facilitate roaming between our
domestic markets and NII Holdings’ Latin American markets. We also have roaming agreements in effect with
TELUS Mobility, Inc. in Canadian market areas where it offers iDEN-based services. With the i930 iDEN
handset, subscribers can roam in areas of over 100 countries. In addition, any iDEN subscriber can remove the
subscriber identity module cards found in each iDEN handset and place them in certain Motorola handsets that
utilize global system for mobile communication, or GSM, technology, the network technology utilized by many
wireless providers throughout Europe and other parts of the world.
Although the iDEN technology offers a number of advantages over other technology platforms, including the
ability to offer our walkie-talkie features, unlike other wireless technologies, it is a proprietary technology that
relies solely on our and Motorola’s efforts for further research, and product development and innovation. We rely
on Motorola to provide us with technology improvements designed to expand our iDEN-based wireless voice
capacity and improve our services. Motorola provides all of the iDEN infrastructure equipment used in the iDEN
network, and substantially all iDEN handset devices, under agreements that set the prices we must pay to
purchase and license this equipment, as well as a structure to develop new features and make long-term
improvements to our network. Motorola also provides integration services in connection with the deployment of
iDEN network elements. We have also agreed to warranty and maintenance programs and specified indemnity
arrangements with Motorola. Motorola is and is expected to continue to be our sole source supplier of iDEN
infrastructure and iDEN handsets, except BlackBerry®devices, which are manufactured by Research In Motion,
or RIM. See “Item 1A. — Risk Factors — If Motorola is unable or unwilling to provide us with equipment and
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