 tmh
@verizon.net | reply to viperpa33s
Re: One way to destroy a good thing said by viperpa33s:Benefits of Metro
2) No such thing as Whenever minutes with Metro.
3) Can call ANY domestic phone (cell and home) 24/7
4) No such thing as Metro to Metro calling. Can call any provider for $50 a month
People still call each other? How quaint.  |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
 ·Verizon Online DSL
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Comcast
| reply to NiteSn0w
Re: Does anyone else smell another Sprint-Nextel catastrophe? If I was running the show, I wouldn't be so quick to make enemies with Sprint. They could be a key partner in shutting down MetroPCS's CDMA service quickly and freeing up ex-Metro spectrum for LTE.
MetroPCS already has a roaming agreement with Sprint such that their phones more or less see Sprint as native coverage. TMobile could get the terms of the agreement modified such that ALL CDMA voice and data traffic on MetroPCS would be farmed out to Sprint, removing the need to keep CDMA service going on MetroPCS towers (which can be a bit expensive spectrum-wise, since for a CDMA deployment you need 2.5MHz of paired spectrum including a guard band, and 1.25MHz per additional CDMA channel).
By the time the two companies merge, T-Mobile will probably already have LTE in NYC and Dallas, so that takes care of the data hungry 4G side of MetroPCS devices. At this point, they can turn off the MetroPCS cell sites (which I guarantee they'll do in most cases), remove the equipment and use the spectrum for the T-Mobile LTE network in those markets.
The next step of course is to incentivize current MetroPCS customers, starting with those with CDMA phones, to switch to HSPA T-Mobile phones. The plus side here is that T-Mobile's low-end phones (comparable to MetroPCS CDMA-only phones) will be comparably priced and have access to faster data than MetroPCS phones had (Metro didn't have EvDO in a lot of their footprint). For LTE phones, the push to switch things over will be less swift, as most of their usage will be data, which will already be on T-Mobile.
One thing I expect to come out of this merger is a renewed focus on non-contract plans from T-Mobile. They may just do this under the MetroPCS brand, or retire the MetroPCS brand altogether, but they now have too big of a non-contract base to ignore, like it or not. |
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 MaccawolfPremium
join:2001-02-20
Hillsdale, NJ
kudos:8 | reply to xenophon
Re: Deutche Telekom finally gets to dump T-Mobile said by xenophon: The real test will be if Tmob stops the loss of customers after the merger.
Well, I know PERSONALLY, that with this merger, I'm looking elsewhere for MY service. I don't want to have anything to do with MPCS, (it's personal)
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Mom and Crockett... I miss you both! |
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 jimkPremium
join:2006-04-15
Raleigh, NC
·RoadRunner Cable
 ·voip.ms
| reply to NiteSn0w
Re: Does anyone else smell another Sprint-Nextel catastrophe? said by NiteSn0w:This is going to fail due to both carriers having incompatible voice and data networks/technologies. Unless T-Mobile and MetroPCS start deploying LTE rapidly along side VoLTE there's going to be no benefit for either carrier or their customers.
Incorrect. AT&T has acquired CDMA carriers (such as certain Alltel areas that Verizon had to divest) and converted them to GSM/UMTS (mostly UMTS). These transitions were very quick. There's no reason why T-Mobile can't do the same thing.
Verizon has acquired GSM carriers and converted them to CDMA in a very short time.
Don't assume that one carrier's inability to handle a merger involving different network technologies applies to the same industry. With Sprint and Nextel, there was a completely different set of issues including questionable management decisions and the desire to keep iDEN around due to its distinct advantages for push to talk services. Management has changed now at Sprint (for the better) and technology has moved on, and other carriers have likely learned from their mistakes.
There's no benefit to leaving MetroPCS CDMA up and running for any longer than required. It isn't a nationwide network, and it will be easy to sell customers new phones over a relatively short period of time. There's nothing that Metro's CDMA can do that can't be done better over UMTS or LTE. Even Metro's LTE isn't very fast in a lot of markets, so the real benefit here is spectrum, which means moving customers over to the T-Mobile network as soon as possible. |
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| I think both the AT&T and Verizon situations involved situations where the customers acquired were overwhelmingly postpaid customers. For postpaid customers it is reasonable to give them a new phone, since they are under contract and seldom switch. But is anyone going to do this for prepaid customers--like this MetroPCS situation? And if you wait until all the prepaid customers upgrade their phones naturally it is going to be a very long time (particularly since a lot of them are bargain hunters and won't upgrade except for strong reasons). |
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| reply to xenophon
Re: Deutche Telekom finally gets to dump T-Mobile said by xenophon:Yeah, this is more about DT dumping Tmob rather than the merger allowing them to be more competitive. The real test will be if Tmob stops the loss of customers after the merger.
The ONLY way to that goal is lowering prices.. and offering much more prepaid flexibility... on par with what Tracfone MVNO companies do today (trac,net10/straight talk).. they have prepaid minutes that scale as low as 4cents/min and unlimited feature phone plans at around $25-$30... Metro once offered an unlimited feature phone plan for $25 a month. There are a whole lot of customers who would be recaptured in this tier... and many more who want a smart phone, but can live with slower data (1-5 megabits). These are prices where VOIP edges out on the high end of cost..
My main concern is MANY people complain about the bad service of MetroPCS... and if Tmobile handles this badly, that can throw upwards of 3-5 million customers into the hands of Sprint, Tracfone MVNOs (which are guess who??? a combination of Sprint, AT&T and Verizon). It's gonna take a miracle not to bungle this the way Sprint did with Nextel.. so good luck! |
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| reply to hottboiinnc
Re: Interesting Yes I get that they're a MVNO. What matters is that they are the only Wireless provider in America that offers plans that many people want. Some only use $12.95 per month. Therefore, why would they want unlimited everything for $50 on MetroPCS.
For example, I pay a fraction for my phone service using CallCentric and the quality is excellent. That is what I want, as I don't need unlimited everything. Apart from PP, which wireless carrier provides the equivalent service? |
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| How much was MetroPCS valued at? How much was MetroPCS valued at (per subscriber, premium over current market value...)? Considering these are prepaid customers and incompatible technology I wouldn't expect a lot. |
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 cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | said by PastTense:How much was MetroPCS valued at (per subscriber, premium over current market value...)? In June they were valued at about $5.50 per share. YTD highest was about 14.50. 363.5m shares. 9.3 million subscribers. So a low of $214/subscriber and a high of $566/subscriber. |
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 tobyTroy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13
Seattle, WA | reply to iansltx
Re: Deutche Telekom finally gets to dump T-Mobile Their combined footprint is tiny.
T-Mobile's right now is tiny. |
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 LinklistPremium
join:2002-03-03
Longport, NJ
kudos:5 | reply to NiteSn0w
Re: Does anyone else smell another Sprint-Nextel catastrophe? |
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tcopePremium
join:2003-05-07
Sandy, UT
kudos:2 | Info Good, easy to understand info:
»www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2410529,00.asp |
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Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | reply to Linklist
Re: Does anyone else smell another Sprint-Nextel catastrophe? This deal won't close until at least the middle of next year and the plan is shut down the MetroPCS CDMA network by 2015. How is that very drawn out? |
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 viperpa33sWhy Me?Premium
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL | reply to iansltx
Re: One way to destroy a good thing said by iansltx:What plan do you have with MetroPCS?
You can get unlimited everything (voice, text, data) for $70 from T-Mobile, or $50ish from one of their MVNOs (like SIMple Mobile). Buy your own phone up front just like you're used to doing. If you go with an MVNO there's no contract.
Also, T-Mobile's network is faster than MetroPCS's network in FLorida. Unless I missed something and MetroPCS is now offering 20 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up reliably over their LTE.
Apparently you don't have MetroPCS so I will explain to you what goes on. There is no minute cards with MetroPCS. MetroPCS is a true unlimited service with the exception of data.
MetroPCS sends you a text message letting you know when your bill is due. You can either pay the bill online or go into any Metro store to pay it. If you don't pay it by the due date, you can't use your phone. You then have 30 days to pay your bill and keep your number active. If you end up not paying your number gets put into the pool.
Your not showing me anything I don't already know. MetroPCS has been offering LTE service. MetroPCS is starting to offer voice over LTE.
What T-Mobile offers is less than what I get from MetroPCS for the same price.
»www.metropcs.com/metro/detail/pe···/4GALL50 |
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| why all the tmo/mpcs hate? i seem to be one of the few happy about this news. a tmo customer for 10 years, they have the best voice quality in my local mkt, and great data, too.
our att and verizon networks are built on old, broken down infrastructure from companies past, and it isn't getting better with age (or patches).
voice calls on verizon here sound like callers have socks in their mouths (old gte network). att has snail paced data, less coverage than verizon, and not that much more coverage than tmo. att has done little, if anything, to improve their service, only making excuses. were not big enough at 500,000 metro for verizon or att to care.
tmo's network is much higher quality, and has only gotten better over time. sure, i'm not in ny, la, or dallas, but i expect see great things for our neighborhood and others that have been forgotten by the big carriers. go, tmo!
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The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you. - David Foster Wallace |
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Reviews:
 ·T-Mobile US
·Sprint Mobile Br..
| reply to trebzon
Re: Interesting said by trebzon:This could be an interesting development though. T-Mobile's network is not the prize of prizes but MetroPCS' prepaid offerings (probably the most recognizable in that space in the US) will still benefit from that access without a toll to get on. I can definitely see this being a good thing for both organization. Besides, anything that adds any sense of competition to the duopoly that is Verizon and AT&T is a good thing.
This could turn out to be a good thing definitely. MetroPcs already has LTE in all of their markets. Switch the Mpcs subs to T-mo phones and operate the same way as they do now. With the very limited footprint and 9mil subs this could be a big hit with a semi-nationwide one.
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| reply to Telco
These people are in the minority. There are far more people going wireless-only than those using BYOD VoIP providers. On DSLReports, it sure feels like it's the other way around, but DSLReports is a pretty self-selecting group.
Not only are they a minority, but they're a low-revenue minority. So they're even less consequential in terms of revenue. Therefore, the carriers aren't really that worried about losing these customers -- even if it's to MVNOs on their own network.
(Of course, there's also the problem of wireless being an oligopoly. In an oligopoly situation, nobody wants to launch a price war.) |
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| reply to dotditdot
Re: What happens now for us T-Mobile subscribers? said by dotditdot:Nothing changes. The same execs running T-mobile will run the new company; T-mobile parent company, Deutsche Telekom, stills own 74% of the company, so nothing will change. This merger was just a convenient way for them get subs, spectrum, and a way to easily list T-mobile US on the market.
Deutsche Telekom is paying $1.5 billion in cash, but MetroPCS had a market cap of $4 billion before the merger was announced. So the majority of the merger price comes in the form of shares, rather than cash.
This is thus a combination of a merger and an acquisition. Deutsche Telekom used to own 100% of T-Mobile USA. They're dropping down to 74% of the combined company. The difference of 26% consists of the shares that they're turning over to the shareholders of MetroPCS. |
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| reply to viperpa33s
Re: One way to destroy a good thing said by viperpa33s:This is going to suck. Just looked at T-Mobile site and to get something comparable to MetroPCS is going to cost an extra $50 to $70 a month or more.
???
You're comparing MetroPCS prepaid to T-Mobile postpaid.
You should compare MetroPCS prepaid to T-Mobile prepaid.
Specifically, T-Mobile Monthly4G Unlimited Talk, Text, and Web.
Same $50 you're paying now. No contract. Taxes included. Call any phone. |
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| reply to PastTense
Re: Does anyone else smell another Sprint-Nextel catastrophe? said by PastTense:And if you wait until all the prepaid customers upgrade their phones naturally it is going to be a very long time (particularly since a lot of them are bargain hunters and won't upgrade except for strong reasons).
According to the Verge, MetroPCS disclosed a 60-65% annual upgrade rate. I don't know what it is for the postpaid carriers -- should be around 50% with a 2-year contract length?
As long as it isn't always the same 60% that upgrades every year, the rollover to the new network will take place largely by natural attrition. Remember that they won't start shutting down the CDMA sites until 2015. Legacy handsets will be down into the 15% range by then. |
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