Sprint prepaid and wholesale business operations to be led by former Ntelos CEO Jim Hyde, with former head of prepaid set to focus on Virgin Mobile
Management changes at Sprint continue, as the nation’s No. 4 carrier in terms of customer base announced a new leader of its prepaid group and the former leader of that group moving over to head the carrier’s Virgin Mobile USA division.
Former Ntelos CEO Jim Hyde is set to take over as president of prepaid and wholesale services at Sprint, where he will oversee development and strategy across the Boost Mobile, Sprint Prepaid and legacy Virgin Mobile USA business, as well as manage wholesale relationships with mobile virtual network operator partners. Sprint last month announced plans to parse out its Assurance Wireless prepaid brand, which focuses on the government-subsidized Lifeline program, to I-Wireless’ Access Wireless.
Sprint’s prepaid businesses lost a collective 264,000 net connections during the first three months of the year, which was hit by outsized customer churn of 5.65% for the quarter. The carrier’s wholesale and affiliate business, however, managed to score an impressive 655,000 net connection additions for the quarter.
“I am confident that Jim will accomplish a great deal with our prepaid brands,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said in a statement.
Hyde left Ntelos in mid-2014, where he served as CEO, president and member of the rural telecom operator’s board. Hyde has overseen dramatic moves by the company, including its decision in late 2010 to split up its wireline and wireless divisions, as well as an agreement with long-time network partner Sprint to extend their “strategic network alliance” through 2022. Fellow rural carrier and Sprint network partner Shenandoah Telecommunications recently closed on its $640 million acquisition of Ntelos.
Hyde is set to take over for Dow Draper, who has been tapped to head Sprint’s touted revamp of its Virgin Mobile USA operations. The carrier noted earlier this year plans to take the division in a new direction, with the carrier this week claiming the move will “launch new, groundbreaking, best-in-class services to reach new market segments for Sprint. The company will share more about this brand transformation in the coming months.”
Draper previously worked at Clearwire, which Sprint acquired in 2013.
“[Draper] and his team are charged with transforming the Virgin brand into a disruptive force in the wireless industry and align it more closely with the iconic global Virgin brand,” Claure added.
The prepaid segment has become increasingly competitive among domestic wireless carriers, with T-Mobile US through its MetroPCS brand and AT&T Mobility through its Cricket Wireless brands heavily targeting the market. Even Verizon Wireless, which has traditionally taken a cautious approach to the prepaid segment, has attempted to increase its presence in the space.
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