Sprint, Nextel to Finalize Merger

Sprint and Nextel Communications said this week they intend to finalize their merger on August 12, after gaining all required regulatory approval.

The companies will become Sprint Nextel and will use the stock ticker symbol "S" when trading begins on the New York Stock Exchange next Monday, according to a joint news release.

The companies, two of the largest mobile phone service providers in the U.S., cleared approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice last week.

Wave of Consolidation

The merger, announced in December, is part of a wave of consolidation in the U.S. telecommunications industry. Late last year, Cingular Wireless acquired AT&T Wireless Services, while SBC Communications has proposed to merge with AT&T and Verizon Communications plans to buy MCI.

Sprint, in Overland Park, Kansas, had 24.8 million customers on its cellular network at the end of last year, and has local and long-distance wireline businesses as well. As part of the deal, its local telecommunications business is to be spun off.

Nextel, in Reston Virginia, had 17 million cellular customers in the first quarter of this year. In addition to being the third-largest mobile operator in the U.S., the combined company will hold a large majority of the licenses in a frequency band around 2.5 GHz that could be used for a national wireless broadband service.