Sprint to overhaul network in an attempt to save up to $2 billion in overhead

After six years of red ink, Sprint is looking to make changes in order to save as much as $2 billion in costs. Starting in June or July, Sprint could save some cash by relocating its equipment from towers leased from Crown Castle and American Tower. The mobile operator would move to tower space located on land owned by the government, which would save it money.

The last few years have been difficult for Sprint. Building out its 4G LTE network led to a lot of connectivity issues for customers. Many of them decided to leave for a more reliable network. As that was happening, T-Mobile started offering initiatives that helped it leapfrog Sprint to become the third largest carrier in the nation.

Speaking of Sprint's rivals, the company wants to stop paying Verizon and AT&T the $1 billion it hands over to them every year for backhaul. By switching to a microwave connection, Sprint won't be contributing as much to the financial strength of the competition.

To save money, CEO Maurice Claure is planning to announce a number of layoffs before the end of the month. That is when a favorable severance package ends. There is some speculation that the cuts will be unveiled on January 22nd.

Claure says that Sprint will have one of the top two networks in 80% of the top 100 markets in two-year's time. The carrier says that it has the necessary spectrum to make this happen, and is staying away from this year's auction of low frequency spectrum. Skipping the auction will also help save it money

At the end of the day, Sprint hopes that by cutting costs it can staunch the flow of red ink and start producing profits.

source: Re/code via FierceWireless