Sprint loss widens on Nextel

(AP) NEW YORK - The impending shutdown of the Nextel network doubled Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (S) loss in the first quarter, as it wrote down the value of the network and subscribers kept leaving it.

Sprint has struggled with the cost of running two disparate wireless networks as Nextel customers have cancelled in droves.

In the first quarter, Sprint's net loss was $863 million, or 29 cents per share. In the same quarter last year, the loss was $439 million, or 15 cents per share.

Analysts polled by FactSet were on average expecting a loss of 42 cents per share.

Revenue was $8.73 billion, up 5 percent from a year ago, as iPhone subscribers boosted services fees. Analysts were expecting $8.71 billion.

The Overland Park, Kan., company's shares are up 2 percent in premarket trading.