Sprint's Goal: Wireless Caddy

Sprint (FON) wants to help companies cut wireless spending.

Well, that's at least part of the overall consulting plan the Overland Park, Kan., telco is unveiling Monday. Sprint's mobile business assessment service aims to help companies understand their current wireless practices, and point out where they can be improved and presumably where money is being wasted.

If true to its mission, Sprint's assessment program will examine and recommend -- without loyalty to its own products -- the best options in wireless voice and data service, and the most suitable devices.

Wireless is perhaps the last of the untamed business communications services. Unlike the office desk phone with one calling plan for the entire company, wireless decisions typically fall to employees who pick their cell phones and Blackberry service plans, and then submit the bills with their monthly expense reports.

As wireless becomes a bigger part of business spending, several players have eyed the opportunity to add mobile to the list of services they can manage for companies.

Outsourcing consultancies such as Accenture (ACN) and IBM (IBM) would love to include wireless in their service integration duties. And technology research shops such as Forrester (FORR) and Gartner (IT) are natural choices to play advisory roles to business clients.

Historically, phone companies haven't exactly taken a keen view on working with customers on the assessment approach, since often the recommendations include consolidating services and finding lower-priced contracts.

After jettisoning its wireless business and before getting wrapped up in a merger with SBC (SBC), for instance, AT&T (T) had big designs for selling corporations wireless service management. AT&T intended to buy wholesale network time from several phone companies and repackage it under one bill to businesses. AT&T saw the pitch as a way to solidify its role as the key communications manager for corporations.