Sprint is in advanced talks to rent capacity on its mobile network to LightSquared and Clearwire, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Sprint is upgrading its network with new, more flexible technology that makes network-sharing deals more feasible. The prospective deal with LightSquared would give the start-up access to Sprint's infrastructure for its roll-out of a nationwide LTE network. Sprint would be paid in a mix of cash and use of LightSquared's spectrum, particularly in rural areas, according to the report. This could reduce Sprint's reliance on roaming services from rivals such as Verizon. The report suggested that this also could impact LightSquared's roll-out contract with Nokia Siemens Networks. Sprint is working on its network upgrade with Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Samsung. A Sprint deal with Clearwire could also be announced shortly, since the two companies have tentatively settled a wholesale pricing dispute that was previously holding up a network-sharing agreement, one person familiar with the matter told the paper. Sprint owns more than 50 percent of Clearwire and relies on the company's network to sell Wimax service to its customers. Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chapline estimated that agreements with LightSquared and Clearwire would bring Sprint an extra USD 1.8 billion in annual revenue and USD 1.2 billion in annual cash flow by 2014. This would help the company finance ongoing investment in 4G.
