Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is a telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in United States, with 48.9 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility.

Sprint is a global Internet carrier and makes up a portion of the Internet backbone. In the United States, the company is the third largest long distance provider and also owns a majority of Clearwire, which operates the largest wireless broadband network.
The company was renamed in 2005 with the purchase of Nextel Communications by Sprint Corporation. The company continues to operate using two separate wireless network technologies, CDMA and iDEN (for Nextel and some Boost Mobile subscribers). In 2009, Sprint reached an agreement to outsource management of its wireless networks to Ericsson. The transfer of the network and the employees that go with them is set to happen by the end of the third quarter. ... Sprint didn't disclose exact numbers on savings.
In 2006, the company spun off its local landline telephone business, naming it Embarq (which was subsequently acquired by CenturyTel).

Sprint Nextel launched its first WiMAX wireless device on December 21, 2008 (The Franklin Wireless u300 broadband card), and the first WiMAX phone available in the United States (The HTC Evo 4G) on June 4, 2010, utilizing its WiMAX technology from Clearwire Corp. Sprint Nextel has referred to these as 4G devices despite WiMAX failing to meet the ITU definition for a 4G mobile communication technology.