McGuireWoods recently advised Sprint on an innovative network services deal with Ericsson. Under the seven-year “Network Advantage” agreement, valued between $4.5 billion and $5 billion, Ericsson will provide day-to-day network services management of Sprint’s wireless and wireline networks; while Sprint retains control of its network assets, network strategy and investment decisions. The transaction calls for approximately 6,000 Sprint employees to begin performing their network functions as Ericsson employees sometime in the 3rd quarter of this year. The McGuireWoods team that advised Sprint included managed services specialists in two offices, and supported Sprint’s internal legal team on commercial, data security, intellectual property and employment aspects of the transaction.
