In a a move to cut costs and improve its corporate balance sheet, telecommunications provider Sprint has announced a seven-year agreement to turn over operation of its networks to Ericsson. Dubbed Network Advantage, Sprint will pay Ericsson $4.5 to $5 billion over the term of the contract, and roughly 6,000 Sprint personnel will transfer to Ericsson as part of the deal.
“No other U.S.-based carrier has followed through on the business-enhancing vision inherent in Network Advantage,” said Sprint’s president of network operations and wholesale Steve Elfman, in a statement. “Our best-ever network performance will become even better by leveraging Ericsson’s world-class leadership in network services, their proprietary tools, and the knowledge of more than 30,000 dedicated and highly-specialized service professionals to power Sprint’s Now Network.”
