Sprint Nextel has just paid off a $1 Billion under its $4.5 Billion revolving credit facility. The company still owes almost $21 Billion.

It ain’t over until it’s over. Despite the complaints and misgivings of former customers, soon to be former customers and analysts expecting way too much, thing are going along better than anyone should expect.

Have people forgotten we are in a recession? Access to capital is very limited for small and large companies. Before the recession became public, Hesse was doing a pretty good job stabilizing Sprint Nextel. Have investors forgotten what analysts were originally saying about Hesse and Sprint Nextel when Hesse first took the helm?

Investors need to take everything they hear and see in context.

Wide scale network improvements cannot be done during this recession. The best that Hesse could hope for was network stabilization in its most profitable territories. At best during a recession like this one, the best Sprint can hope for was spending money on either its existing network or its next generation network.

Think about it; cash is not growing on trees and no one is giving it away like they did during the Internet boom. What does this mean and has meant since the beginning of 2008? It means managing your business with limited cash.

All that being said, Hesse has done a great job keeping the company afloat. Yes, I know there will be plenty of people who flat out disagree with me. However, he has kept the company on the tracks.

What many investors may not understand is that network reliability, speed and dependability, as these terms pertain to carriers, vary widely by location. In other words, I take with a grain of salt people’s complaints about Sprint when I do not know what market they are referring to. It does not mean the Sprint Nextel network does not have problems because in some markets the Sprint Nextel network is not as good as the Verizon or AT&T network and vice versa. Frankly, it is a matter of spending the cash where it will get you the biggest bang for your dollar. Do you spend cash on 3G alone or spend some cash on 3G and some cash on 4G?

Investors need to take a look at Dan Hesse’s effort as a whole. The fight is not over. The recession is not over and weakness is expected through 2010. Can Dan Hesse save Sprint Nextel? I think so. Will he save the company? Well that all depends on what you mean by save.

I believe the company is uniquely position for a merger. I have said in the past that a merger with Comcast would make most sense. Both companies are dependent on WiMAX. Cable television is still the best vehicle for entertainment and interactive media. Cable television is the greatest threat to landline telephony.