It's no secret that Sprint PCS (with Nextel) has been struggling for market share in the United States. In what can only be described as a surprise move to generate revenue, Sprint Nextel has announced word that it has sold nearly all its cell phone towers (some 3,300 of them) to a private-equity-backed firm called TowerCo in a deal that will generate roughly $670 million in equity.

Surprisingly enough Sprint Nextel (the third largest of the domestic wireless providers) says that it will be more economical for them to lease the towers from TowerCo for cell phone and broadband use than it was to own them.

This news coincides with the trends of recent years whereby wireless carriers have moved away from owning their towers instead choosing to lease them from private companies. Sprint Nextel is hoping the revenue earned from this transaction will give them a well-needed boost in the market. The transition should in no way affect current Sprint Nextel users.