Will combine Assurance Wireless and Access Wireless, the second- and
fifth-largest providers of wireless Lifeline services, to become a
stronger competitor in the marketplace
Company Website:
http://www.sprint.com
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- (Business Wire)
Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced it has entered into an agreement with
i-wireless, LLC to strengthen its position as a leader in the wireless
Lifeline services industry. The partnership will merge Sprint’s Assurance
Wireless and i-wireless’ Access
Wireless into one entity. The entity will operate under the name
i-wireless and will be led by i-wireless Founder and CEO Paul McAleese.
Sprint will own 70 percent of the business, with i-wireless owning the
remaining 30 percent.
“Sprint has enjoyed a great relationship with i-wireless for many
years,” said Dow Draper, president of prepaid for Sprint. “We’re
excited to move forward with this strategic partnership, which will
result in efficiencies for both companies, including financial
synergies, such as acquisition costs, device purchasing scale and
working capital flexibility.”
The partnership will leverage the expertise of two industry leaders, and
will combine Sprint’s strong position as a network provider with
i-wireless’ national distribution strength. i-wireless has a unique
competitive advantage in its ability to accurately and efficiently
qualify new customers for Lifeline services through a relationship with
its strategic investor, The Kroger Co. Kroger is one of the nation’s
largest grocery chains. i-wireless will continue to operate on the
Sprint network, which delivers consistent reliability, capacity and
speed that customers can count on.
“This alliance will create a vibrant competitor ready to embrace a
modernized Lifeline program,” said Paul McAleese, i-wireless CEO.
“As the category transitions to broadband, we’re enthusiastic about the
potential to help customers more fully participate in today’s digital
economy by making access to employment, education and healthcare
services more affordable to low-income consumers.”
Assurance Wireless and Access Wireless are participants in the Lifeline
Assistance Program supported by the Universal Service Fund (USF), which
is designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services are
available to low-income consumers at affordable rates. Enrollment in
this government benefit program is available to consumers who meet
federal or state-specific eligibility criteria.
The transaction is subject to review by the Federal Communications
Commission and other regulatory approvals.
About Sprint:
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more
and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about
most. Sprint served more than 58.4 million connections as of December
31, 2015 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and
deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G
service from a national carrier in the United States; leading
no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and
Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk
capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been
named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the
past five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com
or www.facebook.com/sprint
and www.twitter.com/sprint.
SAFE HARBOR
This release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the securities laws. The words “may,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,”
“project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,”
“target,” “plan, “outlook,” “providing guidance,” and similar
expressions are intended to identify information that is not historical
in nature. All statements that address operating performance, events or
developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future —
including statements relating to the transaction with iwireless and
statements expressing general views about future operating results — are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are estimates and
projections reflecting management’s judgment based on currently
available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
suggested by the forward-looking statements. With respect to these
forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding,
among other things, financial synergies, such as efficiencies and cost
savings of the transaction with iwireless; regulatory approval of the
transaction; customer and network usage; connection growth and
retention; service, speed, coverage and quality; availability of
devices; the timing of various events and the economic environment.
Sprint believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable;
however, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which are based on current expectations and speak only as of
the date when made. Sprint undertakes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In
addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
our company's historical experience and our present expectations or
projections. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are
not limited to, those discussed in Sprint Corporation’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 and, when filed, its
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. You
should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all
such factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be
a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160502005778/en/
Contacts:
Sprint
Media Contact:
Dave Tovar, 913-315-1451
David.Tovar@sprint.com
or
Investor
Contact:
Jud Henry, 913-794-7393
jud.d.henry@sprint.com
Source: Sprint
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