News Release
Sprint Nextel
6200 Sprint Parkway
Overland Park, Kan. 66251
Media Contact:
John Votava
949-748-3403
john.votava@sprint.com
Sprint Gives MVNOs an Alternative to Phone Subsidies Through
“Bring Your Own Sprint Device” Program
Latest program from Emerging Solutions & Global Wholesale enables MVNO
customers to activate idle phones on the Sprint network, reducing the
number of inactive phones in the market, diverting phones from landfills
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – March 5, 2013 – As the opportunity to reuse or recycle
idle mobile devices in the United States continues to grow, Sprint (NYSE:S)
Emerging Solutions & Global Wholesale today introduced the Bring Your Own Sprint
Device (BYOSD) program.
BYOSD is intended to help Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) address the
growing number of inactive devices in the marketplace and offset the phone subsidy
burden through the reactivation of used and inactive Sprint-branded devices on
qualified MVNO price plans.
In the United States alone, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
estimates 135 million cell phones are discarded each year. Reusing or recycling these
phones could save enough energy to power more than 24,000 homes for a year.
With BYOSD, MVNO customers simply bring a deactivated Sprint device to their
MVNO, who must determine the device’s eligibility for the BYOSD program. Upon
meeting those specifications, the device is then activated by the MVNO.
“BYOSD is another way that Sprint enables MVNOs to offer flexible, financially
sensible and environmentally minded solutions to their end users,” said Matt Carter,
president, Emerging Solutions & Global Wholesale at Sprint. “This program not only
gives our MVNO customers a chance to make a positive impact on our environment,
but also allows them the chance to do so in a way that benefits their bottom line.”
“A program like this can help to remove the subsidy burden off of burgeoning
MVNOs, helping them to thrive in the competitive wireless landscape,” said Steve
Hilton, principal analyst with Analysys Mason.
Sprint ranks No. 3 on Newsweek’s 2012 Green Rankings of the nation’s 500 greenest
companies and is the only telecommunications company in the top 25.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications
services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government
users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2012 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;
offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid 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. The
American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers
in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last
four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in both its 2011 and 2012 Green
Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any
telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at
www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
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