Sprint Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee said the company’s wireless division is on track to launch its highly anticipated Ready Link walkie-talkie service this quarter ahead of the holiday shopping season and presumably prior to the implementation of wireless local number portability Nov. 24.
Forsee, speaking at the Yankee Group Telecom Industry Conference, said the carrier expects the push-to-talk offering to prove compelling to business users and should help the carrier benefit from the WLNP mandate.
“We view portability, again particularly on the business side, as a significant opportunity and therefore push-to-talk in that environment for customers that have a need for that service is complementary,” Forsee explained.
Analysts expect Sprint PCS to launch its push-to-talk offering within the next two weeks.
Forsee also said Sprint PCS plans to spend approximately $2.1 billion on capital expenditures next year, which is nearly the same amount the carrier spent on its network this year.
“This year we’re spending $2.1, $2.2 billion on coverage, depth and breadth of network, and that’s an investment that will continue,” Forsee said. “We’ll likely spend kind of in that range next year.”
