RESTON, Va.—Sprint Nextel Corp. said it plans to seek a stay in a court decision that orders the carrier to divest its iDEN operations in territories where CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. operates.
Sprint Corp. took control of Nextel Communication Inc.’s iDEN network when it acquired its smaller rival last year. iPCS operates portions of Sprint Nextel’s CDMA network in rural Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska. The company filed suit against Sprint Nextel in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., for violating affiliate agreements, including iPCS’ exclusive right to “all (of Sprint’s) available spectrum” within its territory, according to court documents.
In response to the order, Sprint Nextel said it will continue operating its iDEN network nationwide, including in iPCS’ coverage areas, for the foreseeable future. The carrier said it will seek a stay of the judgment and appeal the court’s decision.
Last month, the court ruled that Sprint’s acquisition of Nextel violated Sprint’s affiliate agreement with iPCS. The court ordered Sprint Nextel to produce plans to divest its iDEN operations in iPCS’ territories.
In similar disputes with iPCS subsidiaries Horizon Personal Communications Inc. and Bright Personal Communications, the Chancery Court in Delaware ruled Sprint Nextel could operate its iDEN network in its affiliates’ territories, but that it could not offer CDMA products in its legacy Nextel stores in those areas.