Sprint Dials Again - plans partnership with Pegaso PCS - Brief Article

BARELY A YEAR AFTER ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH TELEFONOS de Mexico (Telmex) was disconnected, Kansas City-based Sprint Corporation is dialing a new partner south of the Rio Grande.

* Sprint's wireless division, Sprint PCS, signed a memorandum of understanding in December 1999 with Mexican telecom start-up Pegaso PCS. Sprint could purchase as much as 30% of Pegaso for an estimated US$250 million. "There is no deal yet, we continue to negotiate," says Sprint PCS spokesman Tom Murphy. Both sides were expecting to have a final deal during the first quarter of 2000.

* Sprint PCS operates the only U.S. nationwide digital wireless service. Some of the company's fastest growing markets are along the U.S.-Mexican border. Pegaso offers similar services in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana and Mexico City, but has only 51,000 subscribers. Pegaso and Sprint already have a joint roaming agreement in place, which allows Sprint and Pegaso PCS subscribers to use their phones on either side of the border.

* Sprint is the third-largest long -distance provider in the United States, and recently agreed to merge with the number two provider, MCI WorldCom. Pegaso has invested more than $1.3 billion so far, and plans to expand into other Mexican cities.

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