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A Brief History of Sprint Nextel Corporation
By: Paul Wise

Third largest of all the biggest American telecommunications companies, as defined by the number of subscribers, Sprint Nextel Corporation was formed in 2005 by the $35 billion purchase of Nextel by Sprint. Founded as Brown Telephone Company back in 1898, its name changed to United Utilities in 1938 after emerging from bankruptcy. A further name change in 1972, to United Telecommunications, coincided with steady growth from evermore acquisitions. In 1991, United Telecom became Sprint, after acquiring United States Sprint, which was a joint-venture with other major telecommunications companies of the day (such as GTE, which was acquired by Bell Atlantic [known today as Verizon] in the year 2000). It may seem unusual for a parent company to adopt the name of its child company, but that was decided because market research at the time indicated that "Sprint" was a much more recognized brand name among consumers than "United Telecom." Interestingly, the name "Sprint" was chosen by internal contest many years before when an ancestor company of Sprint's, Southern Pacific Communications Company (itself a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad! Still with it so far?), wanted to call a communications service of theirs by a unique name.

In the 1990s, Sprint entered the wireless market with various acquisitions of regional service providers. The company expanded its market share through judicious partnerships and internal consolidation. Closing out the decade, Sprint attempted to merge with the now-defunct MCI WorldCom, which was a major telecommunications company, in what would have been the biggest corporate merger in history then. In the end, it was concern over a resulting monopoly that brought about the heavy pressure from both the United States Department of Justice and the European Union which caused the deal to collapse.

Just slightly over five years later, Sprint became successful in acquiring Nextel (which was a merger in practical terms but legally described as a sale for tax purposes). There was much opposition from regional affiliates of the two companies over non-compete agreement violations, but it was overcome. It was decided that both companies would continue to sell separate wireless services, almost just like before. But most key executives left Nextel after the merger, citing various reasons, including cultural differences between the two organizations. Customers of the two previously distinct companies then had the option of switching services from one to the other. However, such a conversion would have require new equipment.

What will be the company's next name, and when? Only time will tell. The trend among telecommunications companies towards mergers is here to stay, and the only guarantee is that the company's name will change.

Article Source: http://www.excitingdestiny.com/articles

Article written by Paul Wise. Paul has done extensive research on Sprint Cell Phones. Visit Cellular2Buy.com if you're looking for Sprint CDMA Cell Phones without a contract.

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