(Image source: Forbes/Sprint)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

You're watching multisource global video news analysis from Newsy.

Just hours before the announcement of the iPhone 5, wireless provider Sprint is buying into the market for a cool $20 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports.

“Sprint’s entered into a blockbuster agreement with Apple to basically commit to buying at least 30 million iPhones over the next 4.5 years. Thirty Million Iphones. Which is a commitment that is worth at current prices about $20 billion. .... 30 million in the U.S. They’re betting basically that 1 person in 10 in America is going to have a Sprint iPhone...”

Gizmodo points out Sprint is betting everything it can-- and even as the third largest wireless provider in the U.S., that might not be enough.

“Sprint is effectively betting everything on a single phone with this deal. It's a major risk since they're simply not as rich as the competition.”

According to CNET, Sprint won’t be making money on this deal for some time.

“While the iPhone would stabilize its customer base... it would also lay a considerable financial blow to the company in the near term. Sprint is expected to pay a $500 subsidy per phone.”

And Sprint will only start making money if it can find the subscribers for its phones. ZDNet says it’s possible-- but it’s a long shot.

“If Sprint’s bet is wrong the company will find itself on the ropes. … it will have to sell nearly 8 million iPhones a year. What’s unclear is whether Sprint can activate that many iPhones.”

But on Fox Business -- Clayton Morris is more optimistic: You’ve gotta give some to get some.

“Selling 8 million iPHONES a year if you look at the targeted numbers, it's not a big deal. And Sprint can sell if their network is reliable enough. .... the reason that Sprint got the phone and got in this agreement with Apple, not only the amount of money, but also because of their LTE network that is set to roll out and is rolling out now and will be more robust next year.”

Also rumored Tuesday morning --  a Boy Genius Report that Sprint would get an exclusive first run with the iPhone 5. Sprint’s staying mum so far.