Settle down, folks: for the time being, this is a totally unsubstantiated rumor. VoIP columnist Rich Tehrani unleashed a editorial piece over the weekend where he muses philosophical about the rumors he's "been hearing" regarding a buyout of Sprint-Nextel by Google. While Tehrani fails to mention exactly who's been whispering in his ear, it doesn't take too much of a stretch of the imagination to see how a Google/Sprint deal might make sense. After Sprint's deal with Clearwire fell out last week [1], it's become painfully clear that Sprint is going to need an infusion of cash if it is to make good on it's ambitious WiMAX plans [2]. And we probably don't need to point out the fact that with or without WiMAX, Sprint just hasn't been doing so hot lately [3]. So, we've established that Sprint is a prime target for acquisition--but why would Google want to buy? Well, as we've seen, Google is already dipping its toes in the mobile market [4], though it would be a bit of a leap for the company to enter the carrier space. Still, Google has expressed intentions to bid in the upcoming 700Mhz auction [5] and its hard to argue that the openness of Sprint's XOHM network [6] wouldn't jive with the big G's agenda. Could Google snap up Sprint-Nextel and make a huge splash in the industry by launching the nation's first WiMAX network? Given the size of Google's war chest, it certainly could--the only question that remains is whether or not the company is interested in playing the role of carrier.

For more on the rumor:
- see this TMCnet editorial [7]