Sprint - Nextel 2011 Annual Report Download - page 5

Table of Contents
chipsets into smartphones, tablets and other broadband devices, including machine-to-machine products. Through the successful deployment of Network Vision, we
expect to migrate to a single nationwide network allowing for the consolidation and optimization of our 800 megahertz (MHz), 1.9 gigahertz (GHz) as well as other
spectrum owned by third-parties into multi-mode stations allowing us to repurpose spectrum to enhance coverage, particularly around the in-building experience. The
multi-mode technology also utilizes software-based solutions with interchangeable hardware to provide greater network flexibility, which also allows for the deployment
of LTE.
Our Nextel platform, which we plan to decommission during 2012 and 2013, is an all-digital packet data network based on iDEN wireless technology provided
by Motorola Solutions, Inc. We are the only national wireless service provider in the United States that utilizes this technology. Generally, Nextel platform devices that
we currently offer are not enabled to roam on wireless networks that do not utilize iDEN technology. As a result of our plan to decommission our Nextel platform, we will
continue to target the retention of these customers through competitive offerings on the Sprint platform.
Sales, Marketing and Customer Care
We focus the marketing and sales of wireless services on targeted groups of retail subscribers: individual consumers, businesses and government.
We use a variety of sales channels to attract new subscribers of wireless services, including:
We market our postpaid services under the Sprint® and Nextel® brands. We offer these services on a contract basis typically for one or two-year periods, with
services billed on a monthly basis according to the applicable pricing plan. As we deploy Network Vision, our efforts will continue to focus on growing the Sprint
platform postpaid subscriber base including the migration of existing Nextel platform subscribers to other offerings on our Sprint platform, which includes future
offerings on our multi-mode network, such as Sprint Direct Connect. We market our prepaid services under the Boost Mobile®, Virgin Mobile®, and Assurance Wireless
brands as a means to provide value-driven prepaid service plans to particular markets. Our wholesale customers are resellers of our wireless services rather than end-use
subscribers and market their products and services using their brands.
Although we market our services using traditional print and television advertising, we also provide exposure to our brand names and wireless services through
various sponsorships, including the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR®) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). The goal of these
marketing initiatives is to increase brand awareness and sales.
Our customer management organization works to improve our customers' experience, with the goal of retaining subscribers of our wireless services. Customer
service call centers, some of which are operated by us and some of which are operated by unrelated parties subject to Sprint standards of operation, receive and resolve
inquiries from subscribers and proactively address subscriber needs.
Competition
We believe that the market for wireless services has been and will continue to be characterized by intense competition on the basis of price, the types of
services and devices offered and quality of service. We compete with a number of wireless carriers, including three other national wireless companies: AT&T, Verizon
Wireless (Verizon) and T-Mobile. Our primary competitors offer voice, high-speed data, entertainment and location-based services and push-to-talk-type features that are
designed to compete with our products and services. Other competitors offer or have announced plans to introduce similar services. AT&T and Verizon also offer
competitive wireless services packaged with local and long distance voice, high-speed Internet services and video. Our prepaid services compete with a number of carriers
and resellers including Metro PCS Communications, Inc., Leap Wireless International, Inc. and TracFone Wireless, which offer competitively-priced calling plans that
include unlimited local calling.
3
• direct sales representatives whose efforts are focused on marketing and selling wireless services primarily to mid-sized to large businesses and government
agencies;
• retail outlets owned and operated by us, that focus on sales to the consumer market as well as third-party retailers;
• indirect sales agents that primarily consist of local and national non-affiliated dealers and independent contractors that market and sell services to
businesses and the consumer market, and are generally paid through commissions; and
• subscriber-convenient channels, including web sales and telesales.