Sprint's IPhone Strategy Is Paying Off, Q4 Results Suggest

Sprint desperately indispensable a hit, and it looks similar to it got one.

The struggling wireless conduit sole 1.8 million iPhones in its fourth quarter, with 40 percent of those phones going to first-time Sprint customers. In fact, the iPhone helped Sprint accomplish its top quarterly number of complete net subscriber additions (1.6 million) given 2005.

Its great headlines notwithstanding, Sprint's sales figures were a tumble in the shawl compared to the 4.3 million iPhone activations Verizon sole in Q4, and the 7.6 million iPhone sales of ATT. But for a conduit whose batch had been ceaselessly dipping given the launch of the iPhone in 2007, the Q4 results were really great news.

"With where Sprint is at correct now, not getting the iPhone would have been bad," IHS researcher Francis Sideco said. "This is usually a certain from a subscriber standpoint."

Back in October, it came to light that Sprint had forsaken $20 billion to secure a treat for 30.5 million iPhones over a four-year period. The size of the gamble was a risk, but as Sprint CEO Dan Hesse mentioned on multi-part occasions, the iPhone was the greatest reason customers were abandoning Sprint for other carriers. Indeed, by October 2011, Sprint's batch had forsaken 80 percent given the iPhone originally launched on competing mobile networks.

"As the usually conduit with an infinite information outline is to iPhone, you think you have a jagged chance over time to upgrade our marketplace share," Sprint deputy Scott Sloat told Wired. Although a few constant ATT and Verizon subscribers are grandfathered in to infinite information plans, Sprint is the usually conduit to still offer an infinite package to new subscribers, despite at slower information speeds than its competitors.

"I think in this short-term period, [Sprint's infinite information plan] was unquestionably an popular differentiator," Sideco said.

Although Sprint gifted iPhone 4S section sales success in Q4, it still suffered financially due to $1.7 billion in funding payments is to handset. This resulted in $1.3 billion in net losses. That's a complicated cost to pay, but as long as Sprint stays focused on its smartphone mission, it should pay off.

Indeed, on top of the iPhone, Sprint is crude its WiMax growth in preference of LTE with its " Network Vision " initiative. Sprint says its high-speed network outline is on track, and will bring Sprint-flavored LTE to 6 leading civil areas by the center of this year.

"I think Sprint needs to go on to have a good, burly summary to the subscribers on how they're going to assault smartphones and LTE," Sideco mentioned when asked what Sprint should do to go on to upgrade its subscriber base. "Looking at where they've been in the past, they're at last starting to justify all of that, and have a coherent go-forward strategy."