KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An Illinois judge has given Sprint Nextel Corp. until January to cease operating part of its Nextel phone network across a swath of the Midwest.
Sprint affiliate iPCS said Wednesday that the Cook County Circuit Court filed a final order in the company’s lawsuit against Sprint. The order gives Sprint Nextel until Jan. 25, 2010, “to cease owning, operating and managing” the Nextel network in iPCS Wireless’ service area.
A judge earlier ruled Sprint’s 2005 acquisition of Nextel Communications violated an exclusivity agreement with iPCS.
iPCS’ territory covers parts of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska.
A Sprint spokesman said the company was implementing a plan to address the court’s ruling but wouldn’t provide details.
