NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 20, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Sprint Corp.'s (BBB-/Watch Pos/--) announcement of a $3.5 billion pretax noncash impairment charge would not affect the rating upgrade potential for the company. The charge will reduce the value of Sprint's long-distance network assets and will be recorded in the company's third-quarter 2004 results. Sprint also indicated that it will reduce its workforce by 700, primarily in business customer sales and support areas. Standard&Poor's had already considered long-distance revenue declines due to industry pricing pressures, technology shifts, and regulatory changes when it placed its ratings for Sprint on CreditWatch with positive implications on Oct. 8, 2004. Long distance accounts for about 25% of
