<div><div style="float:right;margin-bottom:10px;"><a  href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?text=sdasdasd&url=http://mashable.com/2011/10/03/sprint-20-billion-iphone/"><img style="border:none;margin-right:5px;" src="http://5.mshcdn.com/wp-content/themes/v7/img/share-buttons/stumbleupon.png" align="right" /></a>
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<a  href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://mashable.com/2011/10/03/sprint-20-billion-iphone/&service=bit.ly&source=mashable"><img style="border:none;margin-right:5px;" width="51" height="61" src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://mashable.com/2011/10/03/sprint-20-billion-iphone/" align="right"/></a></div><div style="float:left;margin-bottom:10px;"><img src="http://6.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/iphone-apps-360.jpg" class="alignright" width="275px"></div><div style="clear:both;"></div></div><br/>The future of <a href="http://mashable.com/follow/topics/sprint">Sprint</a> now depends on the <a href="http://mashable.com/follow/topics/iphone">iPhone</a>. The nation's third-largest wireless carrier has reportedly agreed to purchase $20 billion in iPhones, regardless of whether it can find customers that will buy them.

The deal requires Sprint to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones through the next four years, according to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203405504576603053795839250.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories" ><em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a>.  The cost of those iPhones amounts to $20 billion, an upfront cost that will force Sprint to lose <em>a lot</em> of money on the deal until 2014.

This is a ridiculously high number for a company that had only <a href="http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1879" >27.4 million postpaid subscribers</a> as of April 2011. To come close to matching 30.5 million iPhone orders, Sprint will have to dramatically grow its customer base or convince all of its customers to switch to iPhones. Both are monumental tasks.

<strong><center>SEE ALSO: <a href="http://mashable.com/2011/09/27/apple-iphone-5-launch-heres-what-to-expect/">Apple iPhone 5 Launch: Here's What to Expect</a></strong></center>

Sprint hopes a combination of subsidies (at least $500 per phone), strong customer service and <a href="http://mashable.com/2011/09/09/sprint-unlimited-data-iphone5/">an unlimited data plan</a> will help the struggling wireless carrier poach customers from Verizon and AT&T, the current market leaders. In the meantime though, the deal will have a major impact on Sprint's bottom line, depressing its profits and potentially its stock price for the next few years.

Its clear that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is betting all of his chips on the iPhone. Apple doesn't need Sprint, but Sprint needs Apple, which is why the tech giant was able to negotiate such a one-sided deal. Still, Sprint's future prospects were bleak without the world's most popular smartphone. The company had little choice but to pray the iPhone remains a market leader for the next five years.

It's a smart bet, but it's a bet that could break the company's back. Only time will tell if Sprint's decision is genius or suicidal. <p style="margin-top:10px;"><i>For more <a href="http://mashable.com/business/">Business</a> coverage:</i><ul style="margin-top:0;" class="xoxo"><li><a href="http://twitter.com/mashbusiness"  rel="nofollow">Follow Mashable Business on Twitter</a></li><li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/mashable.business"  rel="nofollow">Become a Fan on Facebook</a></li><li><a href="http://feeds.mashable.com/mashable/business"  rel="nofollow">Subscribe to the Business channel</a></li><li>Download our free apps for <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/08/02/mashable-android-app/" rel="nofollow">Android</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mashable-for-mac/id412390413?mt=12" rel="nofollow">Mac</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mashable/id356202138?mt=8"  rel="nofollow">iPhone</a> and <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mashable-for-ipad/id370097986?mt=8"  rel="nofollow">iPad</a></li></ul></p>
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