Sprint has settled its ongoing patent dispute with Big River over Voice over Packet (VoP) communications for an undisclosed amount of money.

“Sprint was intent on seeking an injunction to preserve its competitive position as a leader in providing cable VoP solutions; however, we are pleased that we were able to enter into an agreement that allowed Big River to be licensed so that it can continue to service its existing customers and smaller cable operations,” said Harley Ball, vice president of intellectual property at Sprint, in a statement.

Sprint had sued Big River and three other telecommunications companies – NuVox, Broadvox and Paetec – in January 2008. The carrier alleged infringement of six patents owned by Sprint relating to VoP communications.

Sprint had settled with the three other companies prior to today’s announcement. The financial terms of the Big River settlement are confidential.

Under the terms of the settlement, Big River will compensate Sprint for a non-exclusive license to Sprint’s VoP patent portfolio that allows Big River to provide services to predefined cable companies.

The Sprint VoP portfolio contains more that 120 U.S. patents and numerous foreign patents which cover methods for carrying voice traffic over a packet-based network, such as the Internet. Specifically, many of the patents cover telecom systems offered in conjunction with cable television and high-speed Internet services.

“We are glad to put this litigation behind us and return our attention to providing our clients with excellent telecommunication services,” said Big River President Jerry Howe in a statement. “We are pleased to be a licensee of Sprint’s patents and look forward to providing our services under the protection of this portfolio. We recognize the importance of Sprint’s VoP patent portfolio.”