Sprint is also rolling out LTE on the 800 MHz band, as part of the tri-band service Spark, announced last October. The cost of the roll-out, expected to be completed by end-2015, will be "significant", the company noted, with its capex budget this year estimated at USD 8 billion. It also continues to decommission the Nextel infrastructure, which should be finished by the end of 2016. In addition, Spring is converting its backhaul network to Ethernet from TDM, which is expected to boost capacity and reduce costs. The one-time costs of ending TDM contractual commitments with third-party vendors are estimated at USD 175-225 million, the majority of which will be booked through the first quarter of 2016.
The ongoing upgrades under its Network Vision programme have led to increased churn in some areas, and Sprint said it expects this to reduce only latter in 2014. In the long term, the migration to a single, IP-based network using the more efficient LTE technology is expected to lead to cost savings, through capital efficiencies, reduced energy costs, lower roaming expenses, backhaul savings, and a reduction in total cell sites.
