<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/29/AR2007032901061.
html?nav=rss_technology/techpolicy>

 Although the contract is a big win for AT&T, Qwest and Verizon,
 industry analysts said, it is a devastating blow for Sprint, which
 has provided services under the government's previous two major
 telecom contracts, spanning two decades.

 "This doesn't just mean a loss of federal business -- this will
 marginalize Sprint and really narrow their scope to a niche wireless
 contractor versus a broad carrier," said Warren Suss, a telecom
 analyst for Suss Consulting in Jenkintown, Pa. "The fact that they
 didn't make the cut here means that from a pricing and technological
 point of view, they had a hard time providing services across the
 board."

 Other analysts speculated that the government was wary of doing
 business with Sprint, which has been losing subscribers and whose
 stock has lost about 20 percent of its value, adjusted for dividends
 and splits, since its 2005 merger with Nextel. William E. Kennard,
 former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, was brought
 on to Sprint's board of directors after the merger, in part to help
 bolster the company's federal presence. He resigned from his post
 three weeks ago -- an early sign, some say, that Sprint was facing
 defeat.

 [MORE]

<http://go.sosd.com/adapt/servlet/nrp?cid=RIM&cmd=sty&pgn=1&ino=1053510&cat=Technology>

 While current GSA officials would not say why Sprint lost out, Bob
 Woods, a former official at the agency who now works as a consultant,
 surmised that Sprint could not meet the low prices of its
 competitors. Woods estimated that Sprint could lose roughly $200
 million to $250 million annually in existing government business.

 Executives from Sprint plan to meet with GSA officials next week to
 discuss why their contract proposal fell short, and the company will
 decide afterwards whether to file a protest, spokeswoman Sukhi Sahni
 said in an e-mail.

 [MORE]

Sprint Nextel will not protest contract
<http://www.kansascity.com/438/story/62087.html>

 Sprint Nextel Corp., the only losing bidder among four companies
 vying for a government telecommunications contract worth up to $48
 billion, said Friday it has decided not to protest last week's
 decision.

 The company met with the General Service Administration on Wednesday
 for a "debriefing" on why they weren't chosen for the 10-year
 "Networx Universal" contract.
...
 Sprint, which has been supplying telecom services to the government
 for the last 18 years, lost out to Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T
 Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. for the Universal
 contract. As a result, Sprint will not be able to compete for
 individual agency business for the next decade.

 [MORE]

<http://svextra.com/blogs/gmsv/2007/03/big_telecom_party_in_dc_sprints_invitation
_lost_in_the_mail.html>

 The blow to Sprint, which had participated in providing telecom
 services to the federal government for nearly 20 years, was a
 crusher. The company has been leaking customers and jobs since
 acquiring Nextel in 2005, and it had already announced plans to lay
 off 5,000 workers this year as sales lagged. Asked why Sprint was
 sent home, John Johnson of the GPA would say only, "The three
 awardees best meet our needs." Sprint officials said they would press
 the feds for a more detailed explanation next week before deciding
 whether to protest its exclusion.  [MORE]

Navas doesn't know anything if it's not contained in a Google link.

One thought on the street is that Sprint might have half-assed the whole
thing because while the dollars sound great, margin on those types of
accounts are horrible.  Between huge equipment subsidies (including
contracted cell towers and private networks), huge pricing discounts,
special billing requirements, budget shortfalls (which stop payment in a
heartbeat) and the necessity to go through the GSA for payment puts net
revenue far below any other tier of customer in the industry.  The money
looks good coming in, but id of no value if most of it goes right back out.

The budget piece is of particular importance- the contract was advertised
as being worth "up to $48B" over ten years.  The real value won't be
determined by the carriers- it will be determined by Congress.

There is a secondary contract being offered later in the year with fewer
requirements and worth $20B.  Sprint may be focusing their energies there.

CDMA2000.

Yes.

Unfortunately, that's not what's actually happening.

I think Sprint is making a very big and very risky bet.