Sprint to dump Nextel?

Amid renewed rumors this morning of a Deutsche Telekomtakeover, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint is "seriously considering" dumping the Nextel product. This is by no means the first time we've heard rumors of this nature, and it most likely won't be the last, but when they come from the most respected name in the business world we're a bit more inclined to believe it.  The WSJ is reporting that Cyren Call, founded by extel co-founder Morgan O'Brien, is looking to gather up investors to buy the network with the intention of creating a wireless national public safety network.

The merger has been a mess since day one, resulting in nearly 10,000 layoffs, two ousted CEOs and a write-down of Nextel's value in February. Though Sprint management has professed a commitment to iDEN, at this point the network is little more than dead weight and even with the upcoming QChat devices Sprint probably wouldn't be able to shut it down until at least 2012. Furthermore, Sprint's commitment to WiMax means they would be managing three separate networks. What we've seen of new CEO Dan Hesse has impressed us up until now, and a selloff of Nextel would show that he is not afraid to right the wrongs of past management.

source: Wall Street Journal (subscription required)