Sprint and LightSquared reportedly to deploy LTE network

Sprint Nextel corp and LightSquared, Inc. have just reached a 15-year deal to provide high-speed LTE services, equipment, and share expansion costs, according to Bloomberg.  All the details haven't been announced, but according to insiders the deal could be valued as high as $20 billion.  From a letter from LightSquared financial backer Phillip Falcone to Harbinger Capital Partner investors obtained by Bloomberg:

LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared’s 4G LTE network. Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared’s 4G LTE network.

We have no idea how this will affect any relationship between Sprint and Clearwire (which ain't exactly the greatest in the world), but we can tell you that your current Sprint 4G phones won't stop working until long after the contract is up.  If Bloomberg is right on this one (and they usually are), expect a formal announcement soonish.

Source: Bloomberg via

Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.