Sprint 3rd Quarter Loss Grows as Company Loses Subscribers

Has not been able to slow the rate at which customers leave

Sprint Nextel Corp.'s third-quarter loss widened, partly on costs related to its Nextel network shutdown, as the wireless carrier continued to lose contract subscribers.

Customer losses and costs from the shuttering of its older Nextel network have widened Sprint's losses in recent quarters. Sprint has also struggled to slow the rate at which customers leave, and costs from its deal to buy at least $15.5 billion worth of iPhones over the next several years have added pressure to the company's bottom line.