Sprint recently joined forces with Comcast, Cox, Time Warner Cable and Advance/Newhouse Communications to spend $2.4 billion on wireless spectrum -- enough to technically make cable companies the nation's fifth largest wireless phone provider. They've since started offering wireless phone service to cable customers; $15-$25 on top of a traditional Sprint mobile phone plan will net you mobile video content, e-mail access and web browsing.

The selling point to consumers is supposed to be the simplicity of one bill and the idea of convergence (control your DVR via phone, etc.). The ultimate goal, of course, is to help them better compete with the unified telco services like U-Verse and FiOS. At first the companies were simply offering the service under the individual cable brands -- but this week they unveiled a unifying brand for the service: Pivot.

While many are reporting this as a "quadruple play" bundle, so far it isn't. Cable CEOs like Brian Roberts haven't been sold on the idea of bundling wireless phone service with VoIP, data and video. As we've mentioned, the quadruple play is an accountant pipe dream, with most customers preferring to bundle usually just two services. Sprint will offer Pivot bundles to businesses, however.

According to Sprint, "Pivot" is currently available in eight metropolitan areas: Raleigh, NC; Austin, TX; Boston; Portland, OR; San Diego; Phoenix; Cincinnati; and Dayton, OH. It is expected to be available in 40 markets by year's end.