Sprint and Nextel merger could be difficult

The Sprint and Nextel merger may turn out to be a rough and painful ride for both customers and Sprint. The plan to integrate the two wireless technologies of iDEN (currently used by Nextel) and CDMA (with Sprint) will be bound by technological limitations. iDEN will not work with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) that 20.1 million Sprint customers use.

To take full advantage of the merger, Sprint will have to move the existing Nextel users off the iDEN network and onto CDMA, change any iDEN base stations to CDMA and swap out phones, which could take several years and many millions of dollars.