According to, this Washington Post article, Sprint Nextel may be writing of up to $31 billion related to the 2005 merger with Nextel Communications.

If taken in full, the write-off would eradicate all of the "goodwill," or the premium Sprint paid for assets related to the deal.

Wow, that has to hurt!

"Most people agree that the Nextel acquisition has been a disaster for Sprint, and I think that taking the charge just reinforces that perception," Watts said. "They had a much harder time integrating the Nextel network than they anticipated."

No matter how they attempt to distance themselves from the Nextel name I don't think there is much goodwill left in the Sprint name after this.

Many times when those of us with AT&T or Verizon Wireless drop a call with someone we assume they are a Sprint subscriber. Reviving the Sprint name could be as challenging as doing the same for the Pinto.

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