Sprint - Nextel 2011 Annual Report Download - page 4

Table of Contents
subscribers such as Business AdvantageSM, which allows for the flexibility to mix and match plans that include voice, voice and messaging, or voice, messaging and data
to meet individual business needs and which also includes our Any Mobile Anytime feature with certain plans.
Our prepaid portfolio currently includes multiple brands, each designed to appeal to specific subscriber segments. Boost Mobile serves subscribers who are
voice and text messaging-centric with its popular Monthly Unlimited plan with Shrinkage service where bills are reduced after six on-time payments. Virgin Mobile
serves subscribers who are device and data-oriented with Beyond Talk™ plans and our broadband plan, Broadband2Go, that offer subscribers control, flexibility and
connectivity through various communication vehicles. Assurance Wireless provides eligible subscribers, who meet income requirements or are receiving government
assistance, with a free wireless phone and 250 free minutes of local and long distance monthly service.
Services and Products
Data & Voice Services
Wireless data communications services include mobile productivity applications, such as Internet access, messaging and email services; wireless photo and
video offerings; location-based capabilities, including asset and fleet management, dispatch services and navigation tools; and mobile entertainment applications,
including the ability to view live television, listen to satellite radio, download and listen to music, and game play with full-color graphics and polyphonic and real-music
sounds from a wireless handset.
Wireless voice communications services include basic local and long distance wireless voice services throughout the United States, as well as voicemail, call
waiting, three-way calling, caller identification, directory assistance and call forwarding. We also provide voice and data services to areas in numerous countries outside
of the United States through roaming arrangements. We offer customized design, development, implementation and support for wireless services provided to large
companies and government agencies.
Products
Our services are provided using a wide variety of multi-functional devices including smartphones, mobile broadband devices such as aircards and hotspots, and
embedded tablets and laptops manufactured by various suppliers for use with our voice and data services. We generally sell these devices at prices below our cost in
response to competition to attract new subscribers and as retention inducements for existing subscribers. We sell accessories, such as carrying cases, hands-free devices,
batteries, battery chargers and other items to subscribers, and we sell devices and accessories to agents and other third-party distributors for resale.
Wireless Network Technologies
We deliver wireless services to subscribers primarily through our existing networks or as a reseller of 4G services through our MVNO wholesale relationship
with Clearwire.
Our current Sprint platform, an all-digital wireless network with spectrum licenses that allow us to provide service in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands, uses a single frequency band and a digital spread-spectrum wireless technology, known as CDMA, that allows a large number of users to access the band
by assigning a code to all voice and data bits, sending a scrambled transmission of the encoded bits over the air and reassembling the voice and data into its original
format. We provide nationwide service through a combination of operating our own digital network in both major and smaller U.S. metropolitan areas and rural
connecting routes, affiliations under commercial arrangements with third-party affiliates (Affiliates) and roaming on other providers' networks.
In 2009, our Sprint platform subscribers in certain markets began to have access to Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network through an MVNO wholesale
arrangement that enables us to resell Clearwire's 4G wireless services under the Sprint brand name. The services supported by 4G give subscribers with compatible
devices high-speed access to the Internet.
In December 2010, we announced Network Vision, a multi-year network infrastructure initiative intended to provide subscribers with an enhanced network
experience on our Sprint platform by improving voice quality, coverage, and data speeds, while enhancing network flexibility, reducing operating costs, and improving
environmental sustainability through the utilization of multiple spectrum bands onto a single multi-mode base station. In addition to implementing these multi-mode base
stations, this plan encompasses next-generation push-to-talk technology (known as Sprint Direct Connect®) with broadband capabilities and the integration of multi-mode
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