Omnipoint and VoiceStream Wireless have agreed to purchase Sprint PCS’ GSM network in Washington, D.C., for an undisclosed amount, saving their GSM customers from a potential black hole in that market.
Sprint PCS, after converting GSM customers to the CDMA network it launched last year there, had planned to shut the network off by the end of November, and Omnipoint and VoiceStream were trying to work out a deal to keep the network up and running prior to buying the equipment. Omnipoint and VoiceStream expect to complete their merger plans early this year.
Though the value of the deal was not disclosed, Sprint PCS said it received a hefty enough price for the equipment to offset its investment in the GSM network.
“It made more sense to get economic value out of the investment we had made,” said Tom Murphy, a Sprint PCS spokesman. “We already moved customers over, and our competitors would have entered the market anyway.”
