Sprint - Nextel 2010 Annual Report Download - page 45

technologies;
• the effective implementation of our network modernization plan, Network Vision, including timing,
technologies, and costs;
• changes in available technology and the effects of such changes, including product substitutions and
deployment costs;
• our ability to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all;
• volatility in the trading price of our common stock, current economic conditions and our ability to access
capital;
• the impact of unrelated parties not meeting our business requirements, including a significant adverse change
in the ability or willingness of such parties to provide devices or infrastructure equipment for our CDMA
network, or Motorola's ability or willingness to provide related devices, infrastructure equipment and software
applications for our iDEN network;
• the costs and business risks associated with providing new services and entering new geographic markets;
• the financial performance of Clearwire and its deployment of a 4G network;
• the impact of difficulties we may encounter in connection with the continued integration of the business and
assets of Virgin Mobile, including the risk that these difficulties may limit our ability to fully integrate the
operations of this business;
• the effects of mergers and consolidations and new entrants in the communications industry and unexpected
announcements or developments from others in the communications industry;
• unexpected results of litigation filed against us or our suppliers or vendors;
• the impact of adverse network performance;
• the costs or potential customer impacts of compliance with regulatory mandates including, but not limited to,
compliance with the FCC's Report and Order to reconfigure the 800 MHz band;
• equipment failure, natural disasters, terrorist acts or other breaches of network or information technology
security;
• one or more of the markets in which we compete being impacted by changes in political, economic or other
factors such as monetary policy, legal and regulatory changes or other external factors over which we have no
control; and
• other risks referenced from time to time in this report, including in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” and other
filings of ours with the SEC.
The words “may,” “could,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe,” “target,” “plan,”
“providing guidance” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
are found throughout this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and
elsewhere in this report. Readers are cautioned that other factors, although not listed above, could also materially affect our
future performance and operating results. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this report. We are not obligated to publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to
reflect events after the date of this report, including unforeseen events.
FINANCIAL STRATEGIES
General Risk Management Policies
Our board of directors has adopted a financial risk management policy that authorizes us to enter into derivative
transactions, and all transactions comply with the policy. We do not purchase or hold any derivative financial instruments for
speculative purposes with the exception of equity rights obtained in connection with commercial agreements or strategic
investments, usually in the form of warrants to purchase common shares.
Derivative instruments are primarily used for hedging and risk management purposes. Hedging activities may be
done for various purposes, including, but not limited to, mitigating the risks associated with an asset, liability, committed
transaction or probable forecasted transaction. We seek to minimize counterparty credit risk through stringent credit approval
and review processes, credit support agreements, continual review and monitoring of all counterparties, and thorough legal
review of contracts. Exposure to market risk is controlled by regularly monitoring changes in hedge positions under normal and
stress conditions to ensure they do not exceed established limits.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are primarily exposed to the market risk associated with unfavorable movements in interest rates, foreign
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