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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

2 edits

Karl Bode to EPS4

News Guy

to EPS4

Re: T-Mobile

DT may still buy Nextel, which Sprint is all but acknowledging was a mistake acquisition.

This is all strange to me because it leaves Sprint in the unsustainable spot of being solely a wireless voice operator in a market where the natural price point of voice service is slowly approaching zero.....
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4

Member

Well, they'd still have EV-DO- which will soon enough be in direct competition with "the new" Clearwire... plus, the article seems to imply that Clearwire will also offer standard wireless voice, though I suppose it could be in partnership with Sprint rather than some sort of VoIP-over-WiMAX, I guess.

This deal does seem to leave Sprint without a future, though...

adisor19
join:2004-10-11

adisor19

Member

Maybe Sprint will wake up and announce a migration to LTE for their cell network ? One can only hope..

Adi

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 edit

Karl Bode

News Guy

EVDO will become irrelevant in the face of WiMax and LTE.

The whole move reeks of desperation, and maybe Sprint's new CEO gave up more than he should have in negotiations out of a need for survival. I need more data on the precise nature of the deal....
ihateskapunk
join:2005-08-28
Lake Zurich, IL

ihateskapunk

Member

this is the best news for the xohm project in 6 months. i believe it desperately needed the outside funding. the biggest factor in my opinion is the ability to use comcast and time warner for backhaul now.

BillRoland
Premium Member
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL

BillRoland to Karl Bode

Premium Member

to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:

DT may still buy Nextel, which Sprint is all but acknowledging was a mistake acquisition.
I don't disagree (being a Nextel subscriber pre and post merger, I know first hand how bad its gotten), but one might point out that by buying Nextel, Sprint got access to a lot of spectrum in 1.9GHz and 2.5GHz thanks to rebanding. That 2.5GHz now belongs to Clearwire I suppose.

The merger ruined Nextel and Sprint, and I will always maintain it had less to do with disparate technology and far more to do with poor planning and even worse implementation. Sprint executives simply never understood their Nextel clientele or their Nextel employees. The culture clashes are the stuff of legend now. Lets hope they're better again apart than they were together. I think everybody can agree that its really a matter of when and not if they separate. Sprint does appear to be trying to make itself more attractive for potential buyers now. Maybe that's not a bad thing.

adisor19
join:2004-10-11

adisor19 to Karl Bode

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to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:

EVDO will become irrelevant in the face of EVDO and LTE.
Not sure i get that part.. did you mean to say EVDO will become irrelevant in the face of WiMAX and LTE ?

Adi

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Yes, thinking faster than my fingers work....
VansHSI
join:2005-01-29
America

VansHSI to Karl Bode

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to Karl Bode
i don't think that's necessarily true. I can understand how you could come to that conclusion but obviously details behind the JV are not known.

I think Sprint will be much more involved in the JV than people think. You don't give up everything like that to just kiss it goodbye. They'll have exclusive reseller rights as well as revenue rights with sales. This is just a way to get the debt off the books.

And no i don't think i know everything or am totally correct in what i'm saying above. We'll just have to wait and see.

adisor19
join:2004-10-11

adisor19 to Karl Bode

Member

to Karl Bode
Well the question still stands then. What will happen with the spectrum currently allocated for their CDMA2000 cellphone network ? Will they migrate it towards LTE ? Or will they just kill the cell business all together and put everything in the WiMAX basket ? Questions.. questions..

If the sprint board has any sense left in it, they should migrate towards LTE when time will come and go with the flow if they actually intend to stay afloat.. IMO

Adi

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK to Karl Bode

Premium Member

to Karl Bode
I think Sprint's buying AMD.

patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to Karl Bode

Member

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Nextel is ****ing useless. It runs in a proprietary band that NOTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD runs in. Not to mention microscopic channel bandwidth. DT isn't going to be going into esoteric radio products that they can't ever put under the T-mobile brand.

Also Nextel has no 3G or 4G future. Sprint turned off 3G Nextel aka WiDEN (psuedo 3G on iDEN, upto 90 kbit/s on a good day vs 21 kbit/s on traditional data).

Sprint would be a good buy for DT, it would have to keep the Sprint name and the CDMA network for a while. DT buying Sprint would give TM USA access to collocate GSM equipment on Sprint towers (TM USA has less coverage than Sprint I believe) and use Sprint's vast PCS spectrum holdings (CDMA and GSM can live inside the same bands/spectrum holdings, look at Alltel).

Also DT would do good to fire all Sprint execs that have to do with customer service, and make TM USA take over Sprint CS division. Sprint is a very good choice to flip around, their product when they get it right is great.

Also think about it, Sprint has no 4G path and no future now since it doesn't have Xohm. And its kinnda obvious that most cell providers will have to move to LTE, since all rural coverage will be LTE now (Verizon/ATT). Sprint and Tmobile will have to move to it, since Sprint already relies heavily on Verizon roaming and that feature seriously makes up for coverage holes, and TM USA needs domestic in-market roaming very badly. If Sprint stays on CDMA it will start having to pump out AWS 1700 CDMA handsets to roam on Cricket and MetroPCS as Verizon shuts down CDMA in 5-10 years.

4G CDMA is dead AFAIK. Alltel is the ONLY hope of Qualcomm making a 4G CDMA standard. Alltel still hasn't mentioned its 4G plans, but it hasn't bought any spectrum in AWS or 700.
patcat88

patcat88 to adisor19

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CDMA2000 will get phased out, less and less CDMA2000 phones will be sold, advertising will push joe six pack to LTE phones. 4 years before CDMA shut down new phones will stop being sold. 2 years before shut down no phone activations/registrations, only phones currently on will work, nobody can add new CDMA phones to the network. 1 year before shut down people get the letter saying their phones will stop working and a new handset coupon for 1/2 off with a new contract (if contracts still exist in the industry).

Technologically, less and less spectrum will be allocated to CDMA2000, and basically the whole phase out process will be identical to TDMA phase out by ATT/Cingular/GSM carriers/a couple CDMA carriers.
patcat88

patcat88 to VansHSI

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Feels to me more like nobody/no company wants to invest in WiMAX while Sprint execs are in charge, so Sprint gave Xohm to Clearwire and retains stock/revenue returns in Xohm/Clearwire and will provide free or paid in revenue infrastructure sharing and providing/consulting services/purchasing leverage. Cable companies joining is a good thing since this will provide much cheaper or backhaul and allow Xohm/Clearwire to massively reduce its costs since telcos NEVER sell products by lamba/fiber strand, only by Mbps PVC/ATM circuits. $25K for backahul to a tower a month is nearly impossible to recoup, thats 500 customers paying $50 a month, and thats excluding ALL other costs, including the site lease for the tower.

wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY

wifi4milez to Karl Bode

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to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:

DT may still buy Nextel, which Sprint is all but acknowledging was a mistake acquisition.

This is all strange to me because it leaves Sprint in the unsustainable spot of being solely a wireless voice operator in a market where the natural price point of voice service is slowly approaching zero.....
Not entirely. Sprint still has a pretty good foot in the door with regards to traditional business telecom. This is especially true in the higher bandwidth scenarios many larger business look for.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

1 recommendation

tc1uscg to Karl Bode

Member

to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:

DT may still buy Nextel, which Sprint is all but acknowledging was a mistake acquisition.

This is all strange to me because it leaves Sprint in the unsustainable spot of being solely a wireless voice operator in a market where the natural price point of voice service is slowly approaching zero.....
What you and others are forgetting, Sprint ISN'T just wireless and why people don't get that is beyond approach. Take away Sprints wireline (aka Long distance) portion you have another T-Mobile. They provide lots of backbone for cable providers VoIP network just to scratch the surface. DT would be getting T-Mobile out of paying lots of access charges and backbone access if they got Sprint. Just a thought. And no, telco's wireline portions are not dead. Those wireless calls have to travel somewhere, shomehow.