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Comments on news posted 2014-08-15 10:58:09: It was just last week that we noted how Sprint CEO Dan Hesse seemed terrified of cutting prices to compete with T-Mobile, expressing concern that if the company reduces prices -- they by proxy reduce revenues necessary to get the company's LTE networ.. ..

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ITGeeks
join:2014-04-20
Cleveland, OH

ITGeeks

Member

Been Saying

I've been saying for a while their network is behind what they claimed it would be and they needed to lower prices to stay around. At least the new CEO sees this and Softbank was at least smart enough to get rid of Heese, they should have done that before when they took off.

The better question is- can current customers change to the new rate plans without any problems like they did when they first purchased Nextel and had the free incoming calls for $39.99 per month with texts/mms included at unlimited.

THXULTRA
@38.103.109.x

THXULTRA

Anon

Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

Sprint really needs to focus on network upgrades. Roll out LTE to all towers in major cities. Read new CEO is promising network upgrades but he really needs to deliver on this. T-Mobile is awful in rural areas but there network is way better then sprint in a major city. When I get LTE service sprints network is fine otherwise it is a bear.
sparc
join:2006-05-06

6 recommendations

sparc

Member

wow

so a week after they cancel a merger that would have kept prices high, they now lower prices. pretty much proves we need 4 wireless carriers.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

nonymous (banned)

Member

said by sparc:

so a week after they cancel a merger that would have kept prices high, they now lower prices. pretty much proves we need 4 wireless carriers.

If the merger went through prices would still have been cut. Son is going after Verizon and ATT.

bigballer
@205.214.216.x

bigballer to THXULTRA

Anon

to THXULTRA

Re: Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

Once the 2G EDGE to LTE conversion takes place later this year and mid next year, tmobiles going to be a whole new network!

The previous years of running fiber to the cell sites have really paid off
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

nonymous (banned)

Member

Hesse not fired.

He was not.probably going to be around after a merger anyways.
Plus network is getting better. Already purchased cell site leases for Montana. Plus the rural carriers and maybe other expansions we will not knkw about until happen.
The new pricing was on hold until after merger yes or no. Some other things may happen in the near.cuture that where also on hold until merger decision. The new ceo didnt.just.wave a magic wand and in a couple days he decreased prices. This was planned before he was formallh hired.
When backhaul hits the towers it.is not all the magic of.the new ceo. Hesse has gotten the network quite a ways. His problem before was Sprints board of directors and lack of.their support. Son changed that. Hesse did.fine.for.what he had to deal with. Without him Sprint would have been road kill. Now the new CEO has a very strong starting base. Just needs to shake up marketing.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

1 edit

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to nonymous

Re: wow

Did you not read the context? They have to lower prices BECAUSE their network is weak. If they absorbed TMO it would have made their network stronger and would support higher prices.

Now the question is for the user: value or connectivity?

If you favor connectivity and stronger competition, then merger.
If not, keep the 4 guys around.

IMHO Sprint's major problem outside of coverage is backhaul. They in many cases have to use ATT/Verizon and the other baby bells to handle their backhaul along w/ frame/T. Now think about that for a minute...

bigballer
@205.214.216.x

bigballer to bigballer

Anon

to bigballer

Re: Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

and also the 700/600 mhz spectrum that should really give it a kick.

Can't wait until tmobile announces to shutter their hsdpa/hsdpa+ network to LTE too.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

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to elefante72

Re: wow

Sprints network on size will stay behind Verizon. I think or hope he misspoke. Son has been saying he will have the best network within a year or two. So better lock in any deals now because as soon as NV, spark, rural carriers, and some growth like Montana happen I guess the lower prices will dissappear quick.
ssavoy
Premium Member
join:2007-08-16
Dallas, PA

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They would have over 100 million customers. I don't think they'd care much about competing on price when they have just as many customers as their competitors.

jseymour
join:2009-12-11
Waterford, MI

jseymour

Member

How Sprint Can Win Us Back

We left Sprint a year ago, after my having been a Sprint customer for fifteen years. For $55/mo. we had 1000 "anytime" minutes and the usual complement (free U.S. long-distance, voice mail, etc.) No data. Just voice. For $5/mo. I had a couple hundred text messages.

For years I tried to tell Sprint two things: "You really ought to develop a competitive international long distance option. The lack of that is why we retain a land line." Fell on deaf ears. "You really need to develop an affordable data plan. What you have isn't justifiable for low-data-demand customers. Eventually you'll lose us for lack of such a plan." Fell on deaf ears.

Then Sprint started deploying Network Vision and, ironically, their already-spotty coverage got worse. That's when T-Mobile and their "Uncarrier" initiatives caught my eye.

That was it. We were gone. Now, for an additional $25 a month over what we'd been paying Sprint for just voice services, domestic long distance and a couple hundred text messages for me, only, we have:

  • Unlimited talk and text on both lines
  • Unlimited data on both lines (1GB ea. at 4G, throttled to 2G thereafter--which never happens), with free tethering
  • Free/discounted international voice and text roaming on both lines
  • Free international data roaming on both lines
  • Free/discounted international long distance on my wife's line

They welcomed our unlocked devices and the coverage is generally better.

That, Sprint, is the kind of thing you'll have to offer in order to win back our business.

That and coverage.

Jim
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72 to ssavoy

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to ssavoy

Re: wow

My point exactly: Value (meaning lower prices) or Connectivity (speed, and connection with a higher premium).

I use verizon for my DD because I value connectivity. For the kids it's value (MVNO). Keep in mind that while these guys talk constraint, the MVNO market thrives (selling excess capacity) at lower cost. That will not go away.

If you are really interested the wireless sector mess in the US (created by the govt no less) is a perfect example of the Cournot-Nash model, and in such instances the "rule of 3" will dominate. This means in a oligopoly (which wireless is), that they will focus on quantity not price and in such conditions only 3--maybe 4 such market competitors survive. Sprint at a competitive quantity disadvantage, so it is using the Bertrand model (lower price) along w/ TMO. The issue w/ that however is that over time the COGS (cost of goods sold) outstrips the profit and that leads to death of said company or in the US a merger. Look at the balance sheets of TMO and Sprint. They are sucking wind while T/VZ are raking it in.

So while we cheer at the failure of TMO/Sprint to merge, it will be inevitable that one or both go away (or merge). T/VZW own too much of the market and most of the profit.

jseymour
join:2009-12-11
Waterford, MI

1 recommendation

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said by elefante72:

Did you not read the context? They have to lower prices BECAUSE their network is weak. If they absorbed TMO it would have made their network stronger and would support higher prices.

How would have absorbing a carrier that essentially mirrors their existing footprint in major population areas, and has even less coverage in most rural areas, made their network stronger?

All buying TMO would have done for them would have been to eliminate a pesky competitor that was luring their customers away right-and-left. Now that they couldn't get those customers back by buying them in bulk, they're going to have to try to get them back by doing something American TelCom and broadband companies are becoming increasingly unused to doing: Competing on price and quality.

Jim
jseymour

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Re: Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

said by bigballer :

Can't wait until tmobile announces to shutter their hsdpa/hsdpa+ network to LTE too.

And tell the hspda/hspda+ users (of which my wife and I are two) to go pound sand? Yeah, that'd be a recipe for success.

Jim

THXULTRA
@38.103.109.x

THXULTRA to bigballer

Anon

to bigballer
While I like T-mobile's Carrier move they really need to work on there network in Rural areas. As bad as Sprint is and trust me I complain my fair share about them (ie can't get LTE in lots of parts of Chicago really why not) at least I could use my phone in Rural areas. We took my sprint phone and my boyfriends T-mobile phone to Ottawa Illinois and I had 3g service and was able to play ingress. While it was a bit slow it was at least useable. He had 1 bar of 1g service and couldn't even run the app. I doubt he would have even been able to make a call. When I was at Disney on T-mobile I had to go outside to make a phone call. Really there coverage was that bad at Disney. I expect a strong signal at such a popular vacation spot. Lots of work for T-mobile also.

toby
Troy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13
Seattle, WA

toby to jseymour

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to jseymour

Re: How Sprint Can Win Us Back

I find it funny how people use the word 'free' when they describe their cell plans.

I pay money for my plan, none of it is free and never will be.
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

1 recommendation

Skippy25

Member

better do something

They certainly can't compete on coverage or network quality. Price is their only option.

Ford
@174.25.38.x

Ford

Anon

2 little 2 late

Personally left them 3 years ago after the constant mis/over-billing, and also took a 5-line family plan that I administered a few months ago as they wanted to charge Verizon prices but lacked the network, billing and customer service to justify it.

hamburglar
join:2002-04-29
united state

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Re: How Sprint Can Win Us Back

said by jseymour:

Then Sprint started deploying Network Vision and, ironically, their already-spotty coverage got worse. That's when T-Mobile and their "Uncarrier" initiatives caught my eye.

We didn't go to TMO, but did leave once the upgrades left us with broken and dropped calls and no ETA on a fix. Complained to the FCC and got my ETFs waived too, because they admitted it sucked. So sad.
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

#business

At least the new guy isn't afraid to tell it like it is.

They've obviously slacked a lot, on a lot of things over the years.

The days of surviving on image are over with. The world has moved on to this thing called "reality." In this day and age, image/perception still count for something, but when it comes to goods and services that you pay out the nose for every month, and better options exist, you need to work harder to gain trust.

I still see decent coverage and service in my area from Sprint. Heck, my dad has an LTE hotspot from them that works well. A few friends have their phones/service, and it seems to work well in the area. The lack of LTE in other places, however, I can see that as being a problem.

They supposedly have a ton of fiber, so I'm not clear on why they haven't bothered to move their towers to it. For all intents and purposes, they ARE "the phone company," right? I mean, if they own fiber, or can get it run, why not get it done? This strikes me as very odd. Heck, our company has a Sprint fiber circuit (run over AT&T's actual fiber, mind you - it's old SBC turf, which bought AT&T, if anyone remembers).

The simple fact is that they need to continue to get every single tower that they control up to "current" standards. Half-assing might as well be "whole-assing" when it comes to some places.

They obviously have decent setups in many areas, but desperately need to *actually* finish up with the rest. If they were going to spend so much money on T-Mo, why not simply divert those funds directly into their own stuff, as soon as humanly possible? I realize new towers, lease agreements, trenching fiber, etc., etc., etc., takes time and planning, but surely they can get going on some more of this, because, well, it's what they do as a phone company (esp., a um, cellular one).

Here's to the new guy fearlessly driving them in the right directions, and making for a more competitive landscape.
Cobra11M
join:2010-12-23
Mineral Wells, TX

Cobra11M to jseymour

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to jseymour

Re: wow

agreed, I think we are about to see some serious competition among all 4, this is exactly why we need to keep 4 around.. T-Mo sparked it, now Sprint.. AT&T and Verizon will have no choice
Cobra11M

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Re: Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

Hspa/hsdpa+ wont be shut down anytime soon

trparky
Premium Member
join:2000-05-24
Cleveland, OH

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Re: How Sprint Can Win Us Back

I did the same thing with Verizon Wireless. I complained to the FCC, a couple of weeks later I got a call from a Verizon Wireless executive, and he let me out of my contract with no ETF.
ncbill
Premium Member
join:2007-01-23
Winston Salem, NC

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Re: Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

Well, I hope so.

I've used TMO prepaid for years, but now even Sprint has 3G coverage where TMO is still 2G

jseymour
join:2009-12-11
Waterford, MI

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to Cobra11M

Re: wow

said by Cobra11M:

... AT&T and Verizon will have no choice

This is the aspect that many people miss. Sure Sprint and TMO have a much smaller footprint, but their footprints are where the money's at: The big[er], more dense population centers. If TMO and Sprint start significantly encroaching on VZW's and "at&t"s customer base in those areas, the latter two will be obliged to respond.

Now, what happens in a price war that includes the two elephants is anybody's guess. Superficial view would be the two Big Guys would crush their smaller competitors, but that ignores the effect of anti-economies of scale: The two dominant carriers are much more expensive to run. The smaller guys, if they're doing it right, are running "leaner and meaner."

Hopefully they won't all self-destruct, trying to out-lowball one another, like the long-haul carriers did.

Jim

jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH

jgkolt

Premium Member

coverage

Sprint needs to focus on coverage, just like tmobile. if you have a solid network then you dont need to cut prices. also they could work on roaming agreements with verizon in the meantime until they build up the network.

Evergreener
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Evergreen, CO

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to Skippy25

Re: better do something

Sad, but true.

bigballer
@205.214.216.x

bigballer to jseymour

Anon

to jseymour

Re: Hoping he delivers on network upgrades

Would you rather have hsdpa/hsdpa+ or LTE?

Tmobile has limited spectrum. I'd rather have them focus solely on LTE rather than hsdpa/hsdpa+

jseymour
join:2009-12-11
Waterford, MI

jseymour

Member

said by bigballer :

Would you rather have hsdpa/hsdpa+ or LTE?

Since our handsets aren't LTE handsets, and we're in no hurry to buy new ones, since they work just fine as they are: I'd liefer they keep hsdpa/hsdpa+ for a while, thankyouverymuch.

Jim
floydb1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA

floydb1982

Member

lower prices is a step in the direction

okay so the new CEO might be doing lower prices on there plans but what good are cheaper price if don't have good inter network coverage. when you drive out of the city then your Sprint phone becomes a Verizon phone. That is how Sprint phones are able to get a signal. I mean let's face it with out Verizon Sprint would so little coverage that they would be out of business real fast. if you look on a Sprint coverage map you would see that they have way more Verizon coverage than inter network coverage.
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