Nextel Flop Hits Sprint

Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse, Sprint's (S Quote) bungling of the big Nextel merger gets it kicked off the government gravy train.

The General Services Agency on Thursday picked Verizon (VZ Quote), AT&T (T Quote) and Qwest (Q Quote) to vie for an estimated $20 billion worth of telecom service upgrades. The GSA decision handed Sprint a stunning setback, locking the company out of government business.

Former GSA officials and industry consultants had predicted that, as customary with big projects, the four-way race for the so-called Networx business would result in four winners.

Now not only is Sprint barred from lucrative service contracts in the future, but agencies currently using Sprint may have to switch to another service provider. ...