OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Carrying Apple's iPhone will not give Sprint Nextel Corp. a sprint to profits, the firm's chief executive officer said, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
In order to seal the deal with Apple, Sprint, which is hoping to win back customers with the device, committed itself to selling 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years, the Journal reported.
That represents a $20 billion commitment, as each iPhone sale will cost Sprint about $500 as the firm subsidizes the cost of the phone to reel in customers, while at the same time keeping the phone at a competitive price.
In a board meeting in August, Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said it would take until 2014 before Sprint sees any profit from the deal, sources said.
"It's a bet-the-company kind of thing," one source close to Sprint said.
AT&T was the first carrier to sell the iPhone, which it did with an exclusive deal right from the start. Verizon Wireless began carrying the phone in February.
Sprint will begin offering the phone this week, the newspaper said.
