Sprint has had a rough couple of years, to be sure, but they're not as bad off as some of you are making them out to be. Running a loss isn't always the end of the world for a company, especially as company as large and powerful as Sprint. You have to remember that "Sprint" as a whole is much more than just a cell phone company. Even if the cellular part of the company has not been bringing in a profit, they probably have other parts of the company that are. At my last job, I worked in a (relatively) small division of a huge company and, even though we only accounted for about 5% of the total business, we were the division keeping the company in the black. Sometimes, it doesn't take much.
Sprint has committed $20+ billion to Apple, plus they have a lot invested in their old failed 4G network. Sprint has spent a lot of cash over the last several years to build a network that now will now be replaced with the newer LTE network.
I don't know that they "wasted" quite as much as you might think. The reason they were the "first" with a "4G" network is because they *didn't* build it. They partnered with Clear, a company that was already setting up a high-speed wireless communication network. I'm sure there was money involved in the deal, but not as much as is required to build your own network from the ground up. And part of the deal (I know people at Clear) is that Sprint was letting Clear use Sprint's towers to mount their equipment, so Sprint was probably making money off that part of the arrangement. It was a smart move, IMO. It gave them an edge at the time and, now that the LTE technology has come around, they're working to move to that. They were originally looking to partner with another company (similar to what they did with Clear) called LightSquared, but something happened and that fell through. So, now, they *are* building their own network. And they're taking the opportunity to upgrade the *entire* network. Not just add LTE. And it's not like none of the other "big 4" don't have network problems. Sprint is currently spending more than all the others combined on their network and, when they're done, they will likely have the best network in the country (or at least close to it).
And you have to remember that a company like Sprint "running a loss" isn't the same thing as if you broke your budget for the week. These guys have many millions stashed away in various forms that they can use to get capital. They've got some of the best phones on the market, decent plan prices, and truly unlimited data. Which will keep people like me on Sprint *forever* because I put about 12gB/month through my phone
Their 3G network can be pretty slow at times (ok, most of the time) but there's light at the end of the tunnel and that's all most people need to know to be able to "stick it out". We know it will be better soon, and then Sprint will have some of the most attractive pricing and services in the country.
I wouldn't worry about Sprint's bank account too much.