Sprint’s CEO says his company’s up front payment to offer the iPhone is a long-term investment that won’t see any returns until 2015. But, he says he and his company are “very happy” with their deal with Apple.
AppleInsiderSprint is estimated to spend $15.5 billion on the iPhone over the next four years, but by 2015 its investment will be “quite profitable,” CEO Dan Hesse said during his company’s shareholder meeting on Tuesday, according to All Things D. He added that he and his company are “very happy” with Sprint’s deal with Apple.
“We believe in the long term,” Hesse said. “And over time we will make more money on iPhone customers than we will on other customers.”
Hesse has recently been under fire from shareholders who believe that Sprint’s iPhone deal with Apple isn’t good for the carrier. He returned $3.25 million in compensation last week, after some expressed dismay that Sprint had excluded the financial effect of the iPhone when calculating employee bonuses.
Sprint has agreed to purchase 30.5 million iPhones from Apple for nearly $20 billion over the next four years. A deal that has lead some analysts to view it as a move that “bet the company” on the iPhone.
Hesse says he believes the upfront investment his company is making in the iPhone will pay off for the company in the long term, as it will bring in higher-value customers to the carrier. Sprint’s belief is that the iPhone users are “more profitable” than other customers, such as those who buy Android smartphones. Hesse has previously been quoted as saying iPhone users use less data on average than other smartphone customers, and so, costs network operators less money.
