Questions were asked when Sprint signed a whopping $15.5 billion cheque to commit to selling the iPhone, however looking back in an interview with AllThingsD, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse says it was money well spent and that the right decision was made, also adding that it would have been foolish to bet against Apple.
Dan Hesse:
You really don’t want to be on the outside. I think the No. 1 thing was getting the call from Apple that they were interested in at least having the opportunity. We committed to $15.5 billion over four years in purchases, that’s a large commitment. We saw no reason to bet against Apple. Today, looking back, I think it was the right decision
Quizzed about the iPad potentially following suit to Sprint, Hesse remained tight lipped, but that’s almost a sure fire sign that it could indeed be following the iPhone, so I would be optimistic if i was on Sprint.
Hesse also emphasised that while the iPhone decision brought many long term benefits, it was painful short term with the company spending more in subsidies to attract iPhone buyers.
Financial gains aside, the deal gave Apple another benefit in being able to access yet another network to sell its products to. And in the long term, that should increase competition between Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, which can also only be good for the Cupertino company.
