prepaid phone service

Sprint Nextel To Buy Virgin Mobile USA

NPR Programs: Morning Edition  Tue, 07/28/2009 - 7:35am

Sprint Nextel Corp. says it plans to buy Virgin Mobile USA, which is known for its prepaid phone service. While Sprint has its own prepaid service, such phone contracts are a fast-growing business, as consumers trade down to cheaper plans.

Virgin Mobile already operates on Sprint's network, and Sprint owns about 13 percent of Virgin Mobile. The deal is valued at about $483 million.