Sprint on Wednesday declined to provide exact figures on the impact of the iPhone thus far, but said the investment will likely be worth every penny.
The carrier also announced a deal with the struggling Clearwire.
"We believe two weeks in the market is not enough time to confidently" provide details about its standing, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said during a call with analysts. But it looks like the iPhone might attract more customers to Sprint that the company's previous big seller, the HTC EVO 4G. "Early indications are extremely encouraging," he said.
Sprint started selling the iPhone and iPhone 4S on October 14, and announced that it had its best day ever for sales.
Hesse likened the iPhone deal to the movie Moneyball, in which a baseball manager played by Brad Pitt tries to assemble a competitive lineup. "The iPhone is an expensive contract but he's worth every penny," said Hesse, who joked that he was the Pitt character, naturally.
In recent days, some Sprint customers have been complaining about slow speeds on their iPhones, but Hesse said today that the Apple smartphone is not stressing its network.
"There is a misperception that our launch of the iPhone will increase the load on Sprint 3G network and require us to spend more 3G capital," he said. "The reverse is true."
Hesse suggested that iPhone users will "use significantly less data" than those on a dual-mode, 3G or 4G device. "Even adjusting for more total new customers being added to the network, we believe will put less load on our 3G network than they would have if we did not carry the iPhone."
In other network news, Hesse also announced that Sprint has "signed a nonbinding cooperation agreement with Clearwire, to work together on the technical specifications of the Clearwire LTE network." The deal, he said, will "ensure a superb customer experience for Sprint customers on the Clearwire LTE network."
Sprint owns 54 percent of Clearwire, but the two companies have had a rough couple of months. "We have no control or governance in the decisions Clearwire made ... and we have suffered for it accordingly," Sprint's president of network operations, Steve Elfman, said earlier this month.
As PCMag mobile analyst Sascha Segan pointed out, "it's understandable why Sprint is so annoyed, as Clearwire totally squandered a huge lead in 4G."
Clearwire launched WiMAX in 2008, giving it a two-year jump on other carriers's 4G networks. But Clearwire's slow, spotty rollout let T-Mobile, and then Verizon Wireless, outpace Sprint on 4G.
Clearwire said in August that it plans to build an LTE-advanced network on top of its existing 4G network, WiMAX, once it raises enough money.