Sprint to appeal court ruling

Sprint Nextel says it does not expect to have to close down its iDEN mobile networks in areas served by affiliate operator iPCS. A court in Illinois had earlier given Sprint 180 days to dispose of its Nextel operations in the region covered by iPCS, after the affiliate filed a lawsuit claiming Sprint had breached the terms of a partnership under which Sprint was barred from offering services in these areas. Sprint says it is to seek a stay of judgement and will then appeal the ruling. The cellco cites a ruling from a previous case in a Delaware court where iPCS sister companies Horizon and Bright admitted that the iDEN service did not contravene the terms of their agreements. iPCS has networks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska which are operated under the Sprint name.