1. 10-K Integration Project
Sprint Corporation is the 3rd largest company in communications in the United States. Their
mission is to provide various wireless and wireline products/services to their vast assortments of
individual, government, and business clients. They utilize networks like LTE, 3G, and 4G to
provide their clients a differentiated product. In this paper I will provide a strategic management
analysis including my own insight on Sprint’s current state.
PESTEL Forces
1. Political
I could not find a statement within the 10-K that signified a political force for Sprint.
I think it is important that Sprint maintain fair competition so it does not see itself wrapped
up in the middle of a debate. 1In Sept 2015 there was a debate that discussed LTE-Unlimited
and Sprint did not comment on this as its competitors had stated their view. Sprint does not
want to be deemed as “conspicuous” because they’re not present in future debates.
2. Economic
I could not find a statement directly in Sprint’s 10-K but I do think it’s important
for them to know that income is a big factor to their profits. For example, in the United
States if the economy is booming, the income for buyers increases, people will want to
consume their income more and can lead to customers buying more expensive Sprint plan

2. which will increase profits. On the contrary, if the economy takes a hit, such as the 2008-
2009 recession reoccurred and income distributions for customers decreases severely they
may cut back on expenses and decide to choose a cheaper plan with less services from
Sprint which will decrease their overall profits.
Also, if the price of goods for producing the cell phones increases, this affects
Sprint’s buying power to which gets pushed onto the price consumers pay for the phone.
Consumers will now have to pay the dollar value change in cost of the more expensive
phone good and may turn more customers to consolidating their cellular plan.
3. Sociocultural
“Assurance Wireless provides eligible subscribers in certain states, who meet income
requirements, with a free wireless phone, 250 free local and long distance voice
minutes each month and unlimited free texts under the Lifeline Program.” (2)
This statement falls under the “Social” force because Sprint is acknowledging
people with low income distributions in the U.S. need cellular technologies as well.
Approximately 27% of families are single-parent families with lower incomes on average.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2014 15% of the U.S. was deemed to be in
poverty. For Sprint to provide eligible customers with an emergency-like phone shows they
want to be a reliable and trustworthy company. They are able to provide service to all
income streams and not ignore those demographics that are not able to purchase their
products. Although the target buyers may be big businesses, resellers, and individual client
subscribers, they can still give free/limited service to those in need of wireless
communication.

3. 4. Technological
“Our divided portfolio includes many cutting edge headsets from various original
equipment manufacturers as well as hotspots, which allow the connection of
multiple WIFI enabled devices to the Sprint platform and embedded tablets and
laptop devices.” (3)
Sprint is demonstrating the Technology force in this statement because they now
have the capability of hotspots to exist as well as headsets. Flip phones are still used today
but smartphones are more popular in the 21st century. Sprint realizes that more people are
on-the-go and/or need Wi-Fi in a car or rural area where 4G does not reach thus they
satisfied this need with a new product. Bluetooth head sets are now more popular as
consumers are driving or in need of hands-free calling. Engineers 10 years ago tried to
figure out how to make computers smaller and tote-able, today they’re innovating in
making networks for phones to connect based on a nearby signal.
5. Environmental
I could not find a statement that exemplifies an environmental factor for Sprint
within its 10-K. However, I do know from my own knowledge that Sprint encourages
phones to be recycled or resold back to them. This helps their business model because it
shows the customer they care about the efficient disposal of out-of-use products. Also, by
encouraging recycling, Sprint is not encouraging emission of pollutants coming from
cellphones.
Also, other environmental factors that may affect Sprint that they should deem
semi-important is the occurrence of natural disasters as well as world-wide diseases. For
example, if an earthquake or hurricane hit an area of the U.S. and cell towers were to
collapse and all signal was lost, Sprint customers would not be able to use their phones for

4. calls or texts, which affects Sprint’s profits. Although morbid, if the natural disaster were
to cause casualties of mass quantities this means less customers for Sprint and profits are
again affected. Furthermore, if there were a wide-spread disease that was causing massive
death counts, less customers using Sprint services decreases profits. In summation,
although Sprint cannot affect the possible/unknown disasters, they do need to know that
these occurrences can happen in the future.
6. Legal
“Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have also
assertedjurisdiction over our business.” (5)
This quote is important to Sprint’s strategic management in a legal sense because
the FTC manages that Sprint does not acquire monopoly power and does not commit any
anticompetitive business acts. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforces to
businesses that firms act fairly to consumers and that they clearly understand financial
guidelines when purchasing a product. For Sprint, they need to disclose all financial
information to its clients if it wants to avoid a lawsuit, this includes subscriber agreements.
Sprint disclosed they used to sell headsets at prices below cost to gain more customers.
Today, the FTC could get involved because this might raise awareness to other cell phone
companies for unfair pricing on headsets causing them to exit the sub-industry.
Porter’s Five Forces
7. Current Competitors
“We compete with a number of wireless carriers, including three other national
wireless companies: AT&T, Verizon Wireless (Verizon) and T-Mobile.” (4)

5. It is important for Sprint to realize who their current competitors are so they know
who to keep an eye on so they stay at least #3 in the industry. It would be smart for Sprint
to know its own competitors, but it would help their business efforts if they knew who their
competitor’s competitors are. The saying “keep your friends close and your enemies
closer” pertains to Sprint in this situation. For example, Verizon lists their competitors as
Sprint and T-Mobile but also Google and Apple. Although Verizon is exponentially bigger
than Sprint, they see themselves facing the technology and entertainment media industries
as well. Sprint should seek out if they fit this competition as well. Sprint’s mission is to
bring products and services to the needs of induvial and business persons; thus they need
to pay attention to what other companies are advertising that attracts customers to try and
match the deal. If AT&T is successful in selling long distance call packages and seems to
be attracting more business, Sprint needs to try to strengthen their long distance packages
too.
8. Threat of new entrants
“Competition may intensify as a result of mergers and acquisitions, as new firms enter
the market, and as a result of the introduction of new technologies, the availability of
additional commercial spectrum bands, such as the 600 megahertz (MHz) band” (4)
This is important for Sprint because if a new entrant came in the communications
industry with a better bandwidth it may harshen Sprint’s current retention of customers.
Sprint is not known for the fastest nor number one in internet speed. Also, with entrants
into the market such as companies like MetroPCS that offers very low prices for its services
could lead to customers overlooking Sprint and go straight to the “new guys”. Profits for
Sprint was decline due to the threat of new entrants because of customers substituting

6. Sprint for the competitor. New entrants will cause the industry to become more competitive
with factors such as internet speed, family plans, and new services. As competition
increases, it makes Sprint have to be competitive too to keep up with current rates and
services offered.
9. Suppliers
I was unable to find a statement about Sprint’s suppliers in their 10-K as they do not want
arbitrage to occur from competing firms but it is important for them to know where they get
their resources from. The Samsung phones that Sprint advertises are manufactured in Korea.
Apple I-Phone manufacturing jobs are outsourced to China and a few other Asian countries. It
is important for Sprint to know where its goods come from because it is a liability to Sprint if
an external force caused disruption to these countries or manufacturers. Where Sprint buys its
wireless services from is also important because they want to get the best quality network for
a low cost to please its customers.
10. Buyers
“Communications products and services that are designed to meet the needs of
customers, businesses, government subscribers, and resellers.” (1)
Sprint provides services to a variety of people and agencies but their main pull on
their business is the subscriptions of businesses and government. There may be more
individual customers that subscribe to Sprint but they do not drive the profits and consumer
loyalties as businesses do. For example, current buyers may experience a day without
signal and may not notice this occurrence or a few may complain to the service center and
wait for better signal in the near future. As a business subscriber, companies need to be

7. connected at all times in order to carry out efficient business activities. If the CEO and
other professionals cannot communicate, they will be unhappy and lose their own profits
which may be turned around to discontinuing with Sprint services. The loyalty that
businesses and government agents have with Sprint may brush off to other agencies in a
good or poor fashion. Sprint needs to understand that their target buyers need to have a
good/reliable experience with their services or they will lose profits and increase customer
turnover.
11. Threat of substitute products/services
I could not find a statement in the 10-K from Sprint discussing the threat of
substitute products or services but it is important for them to know the massive impact the
internet and apps has against them. For instance, today instead of using Sprint technology
to text, someone could go on the internet to sights such as Facebook and use their
messenger app to communicate with a friend. This substitution achieves the same exact
goal: connecting via messaging to someone else instantly. Also, instead of using Sprint
services to produce a call, someone could use Skype or MagicJack to this activity. All do
the same thing just only involve the need of internet/Wi-Fi capabilities. All of these
substitutes are pushing customers to get a lesser phone plan or eliminate theirs all together
because they can use a computer instead of a phone to communicate, decreasing Sprint’s
client base and profits.
SWOT Analysis
12. Strengths

8. “We utilize these networks to offer our wireless and wireline subscribers differentiated
products and services whether through the use of a single network or a combination of
these networks.” (1)
Sprint’s business model is through their differentiated products which makes them
competitive in the communications industry which lead them to be the third largest in the
nation. Having the same technology and services as everyone else does not make them stand
out, but better rates, faster internet, or better geographical signal range does. Their ability to
differentiate themselves in such a manner leads to retention of customers as well as attracting
new clients.
Sprint also has grown from mergers and acquisitions which increased its scale of business.
Having a bigger company means it has a competitive edge against others, such as new entrants
that can be bought out by Sprint. Also, Sprint serves government entities and business as its
main target buyers of services. This is a strength because little cellular companies do not have
the capitol or profits to expand to the business industry as clients. The brand awareness and
customer loyalty with large Fortune 500 firms shows that Sprint is a good/reliable
communications provider.
13. Weaknesses
“Our high debt levels and restrictive debt covenants could negatively impact our ability
to access future financing at attractive rates or at all, which could limit our operating
flexibility” (14)
Sprint, as well as other entrants in the communications industry, have to pay large up-front
costs. Now subscribers can pay for phones on a payment plan for their bills without having to
sign off that they want a phone for the long run and this turnover of contracts/customer

9. increases their “bad” debt expense. With more and more or this non-investment debt it renders
Sprint’s profitability and lessens their competitive advantage. For example, Verizon puts out a
new technology that includes high-tech Wi-Fi capabilities for a cheaper rate than Sprint.
Although Sprint wants to match this deal to stay competitive, they cannot decrease all their
assets into bankruptcy. Holding their spot as #3 in the communication hierarchy might become
a problem when they cannot hold their competitive edge against other firms.
Secondly, Sprint must comply with their financing institutions to cover their debt when
needed but there is a limit to how much debt. When this debt expense reaches a certain number,
they no longer can have these funds covered due to a small leverage ratio which leads to a halt
on expanding their business outward.
14. Opportunities
“The development of our network of new technologies and services requires us to
anticipate the changing demands of our customers and to respond accordingly” (13)
The opportunity in itself is that customers are always demanding something new and
improved that’s better. Whether this be better internet speed, data coverage, or megapixels in
the camera, there is always room to expand the network. For example, right now 4G technology
is the service that is the newest, however since there was a 3G what’s not to say the Sprint
engineers can find a way to make 5G the new service to attract more customers.
Also, new services could come from increasing the number of cell towers across the United
States. Even bigger than that would be to find out a technological way to reach past the U.S.
and its territories to provide service globally to subscribers. If successful in the future, this
would exponentially increase Sprint’s customer base and grow their leverage.

10. 15. Threats
‘“If we are not able to retain and attract profitable wireless subscribers, our financial
performance will be impaired.”’ (4, 13)
Sprint sees that their competitors are increasing competition for attracting new customers
via the elimination of 2-year contracts, as well as the incentive to switch by cutting plan rates.
As I said in the Porter’s Five Forces section, Sprint has threats of external forces such as natural
disasters and disease. Also, other threats include substitute products such as the increasing
usage of computers instead of phones. Any customer could use Facebook or other various
applications like Skype to complete basic tasks such as texting and calling. This would lead to
subscribers going down as they realize everything basic on a phone can be done through the
internet.
Furthermore, Sprint faces the threat of new entrants into the communications industry.
Sprint faces increased competition as new entrants are discovering new bandwidth and better
quality network coverage. Lastly, current competitors Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are a
threat to Sprint. Beyond the scope of current discounted rates wars between competitors, Sprint
needs to see other competitors that may be wedging themselves into the communications
industry such as Apple and Google. Both other companies have a big role in internet with
search engines, entertainment, and services on cell phones. In summation, Sprint needs to be
aware that there are many threats internal and external them that may affect them economically,
impacting Sprint’s profits, subscriber base, and brand image.
Overall Strategy
16. “We utilize these networks to offer our wireless and wireline subscribers
differentiated products and services whether though the use of a single network or a
combination of these networks.” (1)

11. 2According to Sprint’s website, “Sprint is guided by a corporate commitment to do the
right thing as it brings the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses, and government
users”. They further say “Sprint’s vision to be a world class company, the standard by which
others are measured”. Sprint wants to be the best and not play dirty in the industry. Being a
Fortune 500 company and also the third in the industry, they strive to be number one in the
future.
Sprint’s business strategy is to be a leader in the communications network, which can
be achieved from differentiated products and services. Some examples of the services it
provides include 3G and 4G LTE capabilities, live-television streaming, and mobile
entertainment applications. They stay a leader because not all other competitors in the industry
have the technology infrastructure to offer such things that Sprint does. Sprint is one of the last
companies to still offer long-term contracts to customers. By doing so, this retains customers
for at least two years of subscription and service fees, maximizing its profits.
Hence, Sprint wants the customers to make free-willed choices of services based on
their needs. If demand changes, they plan their infrastructure will account for this fluctuation.
As modernization continues on and as Millennials desire new technology, Sprint anticipates
they discover new spectrums of networks that they can implement in a timely fashion before
competitors do.
Lastly, as a differentiator, Sprint believes strongly in this idea of “framily”, the
combination of “friends” and “family”. They focus around the key pillar of reliability. If they
can provide excellent service to you and your family or friends in your network, it’s also a
Sprint network. This idea of “framily” makes Sprint want the customer to feel like they are a
member of your family or friend circle as “someone you can trust”. In summation, through

12. differentiation of products and services, suppliers, and reliability, Sprint strives to be the leader
that other competitors will follow in the future as their example of world’s best
communications company serving their buyers in every way possible.
Works Cited
Sprint Logo. Digital Image. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://www.sprint.com>.
1 Alleven, Monica. “Sprint Conspicuously Absent from LTE-U Debate.” 03 Sept. 2015.
Web. 26 Jan 2016
2 “Corporate Policy.” Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.sprint.com/companyinfo/scm/supplierdiversity/policy.shtml>.