NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 28, 2011—Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Overland Park, Kan.-based wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. (BB-/Negative/--) are not affected by the company's announcement that it entered into a multiyear agreement with wholesale wireless provider LightSquared (unrated). Under terms of the agreement, LightSquared will pay Sprint about $9 billion over 11 years for access to Sprint's wireless network and related services, and also provide $4.5 billion in credits for Sprint Nextel to purchase capacity on LightSquared's L-band spectrum. Sprint Nextel also has a second lien on LightSquared's spectrum in the event that LightSquared does not meet the terms of the contract or ultimately files for bankruptcy. Standard&Poor's believes
