Sprint Nextel: US$28mn in Network Improvements Thru Q3

US mobile operator Sprint Nextel had invested US$28mn in network upgrades for its Puerto Rican unit by the end of the third quarter, local daily El Nuevo Día reported.

The upgrades form part of a US$7bn investment the company has made in upgrades in the US and Puerto Rico. The investment is aimed at expanding coverage to new parts of the island and improving its EVDO data network to boost mobile content revenues. The upgrades to the EVDO will allow transfer speeds of 450-800 kbps.

The company is pushing its mobile content solutions, such as games and music and has also expanded its online library to more than 1 million songs.

"Providing our clients with a superior experience is our priority, whether it be in rural or urban areas," the company's consumer solutions general manager Felipe Izquierdo said.

The Puerto Rican mobile market is fiercely competitive, as the island has six mobile carriers that serve a population of 3.8 million.

The infrastructure investment makes sense for Sprint Nextel because of the large amount of US subscribers who travel to the island, according to telecoms consultancy Signals Consulting president José Otero.

"There is a lot of raw new revenue that Sprint is losing out on because they [US Sprint subscribers] go to areas [in Puerto Rico] where Sprint doesn't have any coverage," Otero told BNamericas.

However, Sprint also needs to localize its market approach, rather than just use its Spanish marketing material from the US, which has shown poor results, Otero added.

Otero sees an opportunity for Sprint to capitalize on the financial troubles of mobile carrier Movistar, which recently announced restructuring under chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as well as difficulties surrounding the largest mobile provider Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico's migration to a GSM network.

Movistar is controlled by Newcomm Wireless, a joint venture between US-based wireless operator Clearcom and Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica.

Verizon Wireless is a subsidiary of Puerto Rico Telephone, which is controlled by US telco Verizon. Mexican mobile giant América Móvil is in the process of buying Verizon's 52% stake in PRT.

BNAmericas.com"

Posted to the site on 18th December 2006