Sprint Nextel looking to embedded partnerships

Sprint Nextel said it plans to create partnerships with companies to promote embedded wireless technology to expand its revenue stream beyond traditional mobile service, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move mimics those by AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.

Sprint is reportedly in talks with GPS company Garmin, Kodak and memory storage company SanDisk to supply embedded wireless Internet service for their products. Sprint would allow the companies to use its wireless service, and collect fees based on the amount of data transmitted, but would not be in charge of billing and customer service for the devices.  

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently indicated the company was looking to try to gain a competitive edge by moving further into the wholesale business. "(Wholesale) is an important contributor to revenue now, and will be an important contributor for some time," Hesse said in an interview with the Journal. "We'll get the lion's share of new products that need a cellular connection."

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