Sprint Nextel Corp. on Wednesday confirmed that it’s spending big bucks on the iPhone. And the company asserts it’s worth the investment.
Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, compared getting Apple’s gadget to signing a star baseball player to Sprint’s team, The Associated Press reported.
“He has an expensive contract, but he’s worth every penny," he said.
Sprint Chief Financial Officer Joe Euteneuer, the AP reported, said the company has a minimum commitment to buy $15.5 billion in iPhones over four years. But the nation’s third-largest carrier said the iPhone would generate $7 billion to $8 billion in projected value over that time, according to Reuters. Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint reportedly said it would pay Apple an iPhone subsidy that is 40 percent higher or $200 more per device than the subsidy it pays for other phones.
But Sprint, which began selling the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on Oct. 14, anticipates that its iPhone customers will be among its most profitable subscribers.
