IPCS Sues Sprint Nextel over Virgin Mobile Purchase

­iPCS, which won a long winded legal battle with Sprint earlier this year over its acquisition of Nextel has now launched a new round of lawsuits against Sprint over its purchase of Virgin Mobile.

The iPCS Affiliates are asserting that Sprint Nextel's consummation of the recently announced transaction with Virgin Mobile USA and its plan to compete against the iPCS Affiliates in their exclusive territories, will breach the iPCS Affiliates' Management Agreements with Sprint, under which Sprint or its Related Parties cannot compete against iPCS Affiliates in their exclusive service areas.

Currently, Virgin Mobile operates as a "reseller," offering wireless products and services that use the nationwide Sprint network, including the iPCS Affiliates' portions of that network in the iPCS Affiliates' exclusive territories, in accordance with the Agreements. However, upon completion of Sprint's acquisition of Virgin Mobile, Sprint will be selling its own services to the public directly in competition with the iPCS Affiliates, which iPCS says is in violation of those very same Agreements.

The iPCS Affiliates are seeking to enforce the terms of the iPCS Affiliates' Agreements with Sprint and are asking the Court for an injunction to enjoin the closing of the Virgin Mobile transaction until such transaction complies with the terms of the Agreements.

The Complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.

The iPCS Affiliates are currently in litigation with Sprint over its Clearwire transaction.

Posted to the site on 14th September 2009