Sprint - Nextel 2006 Annual Report Download - page 20

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Environmental Compliance
Our environmental compliance and remediation obligations relate primarily to the operation of standby power
generators, batteries and fuel storage for our telecommunications equipment. These obligations require
compliance with storage and related standards, obtaining of permits and occasional remediation. Although we
cannot assess with certainty the impact of any future compliance and remediation obligations, we do not
believe that any such expenditures will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of
operations.
We have identified seven former manufactured gas plant sites in Nebraska, not currently owned or operated by
us, that may have been owned or operated by entities acquired by Centel Corporation, formerly a subsidiary of
ours and now a subsidiary of Embarq. We and Embarq have agreed to share the environmental liabilities
arising from these former manufactured gas plant sites. Three of the sites are part of ongoing settlement
negotiations and administrative consent orders with the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. Two of the
sites have had initial site assessments conducted by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, or
NDEQ, but no regulatory actions have followed. The two remaining sites have had no regulatory action by the
EPA or the NDEQ. Centel has entered into agreements with other potentially responsible parties to share costs
in connection with five of the seven sites. We are working to assess the scope and nature of these sites and our
potential responsibility, which is not expected to be material.
Patents, Trademarks and Licenses
We own numerous patents, patent applications, service marks and trademarks in the United States and other
countries. We have a program to file applications for trademarks, service marks and patents where we believe
this protection is appropriate. “Sprint,” “Power Vision,” “Sprint PCS,” “Nextel” and “Boost Mobile” are among
our trademarks. Our services often use the intellectual property of others, such as licensed software, and we
often license copyrights, patents and trademarks of others. In total, these licenses and our copyrights, patents,
trademarks and service marks are of material importance to the business. Generally, our trademarks and
service marks endure and are enforceable so long as they continue to be used. Our patents and licensed patents
have remaining terms generally ranging from one to 19 years.
We occasionally license our intellectual property to others, including licenses to others to use the trademarks
“Sprint” and “Nextel.”
We have received claims in the past, and may in the future receive claims, that we, or third parties from whom
we license intellectual property, have infringed on the intellectual property of others. These claims can be
time-consuming and costly to defend, and divert management resources. If these claims are successful, we
could be forced to pay significant damages or stop selling certain products or services, or the third parties
from whom we license intellectual property could be forced to pay significant damages, which could increase
the cost of these products and services or force the third parties to stop providing certain products or services
to us. We also could enter into licenses with unfavorable terms, including royalty payments, which could
adversely affect our business.
Employee Relations
As of December 31, 2006, we had about 64,600 employees, representing a reduction of about 15,000
employees since December 31, 2005, due primarily to the spin-off of Embarq.
In connection with the ongoing merger and integration cost rationalization projects, which began in the second
half of 2005, we continue to align our internal resources to achieve synergies from the Sprint-Nextel merger
and the acquisitions of the PCS Affiliates and Nextel Partners. In January 2007, we announced that we would
be reducing our workforce. We expect to complete the majority of the reductions in the first quarter 2007.
Management
For information concerning our executive officers, see “Executive Officers of the Registrant” in this document.
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