Another Day, Another Partnership For Sprint

Ever since AT&T announced in March it was purchasing T-Mobile USA, Sprint has been on a partnering rampage, continuing today with an announcement from Cablevision.

In this newest deal, Cablevision Systems is teaming with Sprint to provide discounted wireless services and equipment for qualified Optimum Business customers and their employees. The Optimum Business Benefits program provides enhanced value for Optimum Business customers that subscribe to both Optimum Voice and Optimum Online.

Sprint joins Cablevision’s existing alliance partners ADP, CardWorks, Citrix Online, Digital Insurance, FedEx, Network Solutions and US Business Technology.

“In a recent survey of more than 500 small businesses in our area, we found that they are often overwhelmed by selecting the right mobile service for their business,” said Stephanie Anderson, vice president/Commercial Marketing for Cablevision, in a statement. “We have formed a strategic alliance with Sprint to bring our Optimum small business customers a unique package to simplify the process of selecting a wireless service.”

In April, Sprint strengthened its relationship with Clearwire, agreeing to pay the WiMAX operator at least $1 billion this year and next for 4G wholesale services. (For more, see Clearwire Garners $1B Payment Promise From Sprint, But What’s Next?).

In May, Cox said it was giving up on its plan to build its own 3G wireless network and instead would leverage Sprint’s network to deliver wireless service. (For more, see Cox Pulls the Plug on Wireless Builds).

In July, Sprint and LightSquared inked a 15-year deal for spectrum hosting, 4G wholesaling and 3G roaming. (For more, see LightSquared, Sprint Meld LTE Visions).

And this month, Sprint reportedly is in talks with Cablevision, Cox, Time Warner Cable and Comcast to formulate a new strategy for Clearwire (For more, see Future Murky for Clearwire).

-Linda Hardesty