Sprint to provide network for Movida

? Sprint Corp. said Tuesday it had signed an agreement with Movida Communications Inc. that would allow the Miami-based company to use Sprint’s network to sell pay-as-you-go wireless phone and data services targeted to Hispanic consumers.

Movida officials said the company would not simply sell regular services translated to English, but planned to tailor its voice and data products to different Hispanic cultures and geographic regions.

Movida plans to sell branded handsets and calling cards at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations, among other retail outlets, beginning in the first half of this year. The calls and data traffic will use Overland Park-based Sprint’s national wireless network. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal is the latest agreement for Sprint in which another company will sell Sprint service under its own brand. Of Sprint’s 25 million wireless customers, 3.7 million have service through such agreements.