dslreports logo
 story category
Ford Trucks Get Sprint 3G
As Sprint expands wholesale plans beyond the Kindle
Sprint today announced that the carrier has partnered with Ford to offer dashboard PCs that connect directly to the Sprint EVDO network. As the Wall Street Journal explores, Sprint is working on wholesale relationships with 3G-enabled device makers to try and expand their business. Sprint already partners with in-car Wi-Fi/3G hotspot maker Autonet Mobile. Of course they also offer 3G connectivity for the Amazon Kindle, though as the Journal notes, aren't allowed to advertise their involvement. Sprint in turn gets paid based on the volume of traffic consumed.
view:
topics flat nest 

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

What more can you ask for..

Two failing companies holding hands.

Rock on!

BIGMIKE
Q
Premium Member
join:2002-06-07
Gainesville, FL

BIGMIKE

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by Robert:

Two failing companies holding hands.

Rock on!
FORD: FOUND ON ROAD DEAD!
Expand your moderator at work
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212 to Robert

Member

to Robert
You do know that ford is the only 1 that did not take money from the government, right?

And they had this in the works since last year.
Expand your moderator at work

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert to me1212

Premium Member

to me1212

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by me1212:

You do know that ford is the only 1 that did not take money from the government, right?

And they had this in the works since last year.
Yes, I knew that. But I never made any mention of the government money.

Ford has been failing for years, it's no secret.
ajwees41
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Omaha, NE

1 edit

ajwees41

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

if ford has been failing why didn't they take the money?

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by ajwees41:

if ford has beenfailing why didn't they take the money?
They posted a $14.7 billion dollar loss in 2008. If you don't consider that failing, I don't know what is then.

They have lost money every year, for years.

It's like watching a snake eat an elephant, inch by inch.

rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium Member
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA

rcdailey

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

Maybe Fiat will buy Ford.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by rcdailey:

Maybe Fiat will buy Ford.
I like Fiat. I'd probably support that type of purchase.

rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium Member
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA

1 recommendation

rcdailey

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

It would be okay, but they would have to use fiat money, since that's all we have here.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

1 edit

Robert

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by rcdailey:

It would be okay, but they would have to use fiat money, since that's all we have here.

brooklynman4
join:2004-09-07
Brewster, NY

brooklynman4

Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

Seened that on the high way the other day lol.
brooklynman4

brooklynman4 to Robert

Member

to Robert
Ford powered by 3g lol

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

1 edit

DarkLogix to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

said by rcdailey:

Maybe Fiat will buy Ford.
I like Fiat. I'd probably support that type of purchase.
you do realize that Fiat is failing? (and took money from Italian government and is owned by chrysler which took money from Our gov and is still failing after being double bailed out) right?

And Ford = Fun On Race Day (get it right already)
Fiat = Fix It Again Tony

If there were a merger of Ford and Fiat it would be Ford buying Fiat (or buying the top of the fiat empire Benz)

Count Zero
Premium Member
join:2007-01-18
Milton, FL

Count Zero to rcdailey

Premium Member

to rcdailey
said by rcdailey:

Maybe Fiat will buy Ford.
Or Yugo could....

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

Mike to Robert

Mod

to Robert
UAW, bleeding another company dry.

However, I wonder what they are paying their union members...

jjsk8r85
join:2005-02-17
Belleville, MI

jjsk8r85

Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

Couldn't have said it better myself. The UAW is the whole problem.
DarnellP
join:2004-10-12
Las Vegas, NV

DarnellP

Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by jjsk8r85:

Couldn't have said it better myself. The UAW is the whole problem.
Well this off topic so I won't get too deep into it, but if you truly believe that, then your ignorance truly knows no bounds.

BTW, what's Toyota and some of the other Japanese automaker's excuse?

»www.associatedcontent.co ··· ml?cat=3

Count Zero
Premium Member
join:2007-01-18
Milton, FL

Count Zero

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

said by DarnellP:

said by jjsk8r85:

Couldn't have said it better myself. The UAW is the whole problem.
Well this off topic so I won't get too deep into it, but if you truly believe that, then your ignorance truly knows no bounds.

BTW, what's Toyota and some of the other Japanese automaker's excuse?

»www.associatedcontent.co ··· ml?cat=3
Consider the depth of their losses though. Toyota may have pulled a loss for one year, GM and Ford and Chrysler have been doing it for years, and with a larger amount per year as well.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to Robert

Member

to Robert
I would love to say I lost $14.7 Billion. That would mean I had $14.7 Billion to begin with.
Happydude32
Premium Member
join:2005-07-16

Happydude32 to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
Here's a list of Ford's 'failures', specifically when it comes to trucks:

Ford F-Series - Best selling vehicle on the planet for 23 years, best selling full size pick up for 31 years
Ford Ranger - Best selling compact pick up
Ford Explorer - Best selling SUV period, best selling midsize SUV, since it's inception
Ford Expedition - Best selling full size SUV
Ford Escape - Was the best selling compact SUV, but I believe it's now second to the Jeep Liberty
Ford Econoline - Best selling full size van for 28 years.

And the million dollar question, why were Ford trucks used in the construction of the Toyota plant in San Antonio? Oh that's right Toyota doesn't make a real truck.

There's only two things I fault Ford on, the discontinuation of the Excursion, the Expedition EL doesn't count. Ford should absolutely have an SUV based off the Super Duty platform along with a Lincoln twin cousin and they should have never came out with the Blackwood, and you think they would have learned from their mistakes, but then came the Mark LT.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: What more can you ask for..

*sigh*

I never said they are a failure, or that they haven't produced quality cars.

I said they are a failing company. They continually lose money, and continually fail to meet profit projections.


Reality
@jcpenney.com

Reality to me1212

Anon

to me1212
Actually it was GM they found beside the road dead. They killed themselves like a fallen pop star. Very little talent, big fat heads and a huge fan base of googly idiots.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212 to Robert

Member

to Robert
How many crashes do you guys think this will cause?

anonuser101 to Robert

Anon

to Robert
lmaoooooooooooooo rofllllllllllllll!!!!!!!
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Too bad Sprint's 3 G is non existant

I don't get companies liek Ford adn the NFL partnreing up the a company that is a DISTANT 3rd in the mobile arena. you'd think they'd want the MOST customers not less. No I'm going going with Sprint just because a truck I might buy has it. Or just to get NFL content. Which I can't anyways even if I wanted too since I can't even get regular Sprint coverage in my area let alone 3G. Now verizon, yep I have Verizon 3G in my area. Too bad compnaies are too stupid to figure this shit out.

Mike_
join:2003-06-24
Philadelphia, PA

Mike_

Member

Re: Too bad Sprint's 3 G is non existant

No offense, but your assumptions are at the sheeple-mentality level. Sprint may be third place , but they do have 49.3 (2/19/09) million subscribers. That number, no matter how you look at it, looks quite eye catching, and that is with the current churn. (Source »gigaom.com/2009/02/19/sp ··· cribers/).

With that said, and with Sprints excellent coverage and money-saving plans, this was a great move on Fords part to attract those tech savvy people. Its unfortunate they do not provide coverage in your area, but that's no reason to talk down about a company whos prices are geared much better for this economy than that of any other..

(and coverage is excellent, Ive got att and Sprint, Sprint beats att hands down on both calls and data up the entire east coast of the U.S. [at least where I've been] - and no not just cities but rural areas as well)
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: Too bad Sprint's 3 G is non existant

+1 on Sprint having a solid network. There has been one place where VZ and ATT have had 3G and Sprint hasn't, at least for where I go. Sprint 3G has been solid for me...
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to Mike_

Member

to Mike_
said by Mike_:

No offense, but your assumptions are at the sheeple-mentality level. Sprint may be third place , but they do have 49.3 (2/19/09) million subscribers. That number, no matter how you look at it, looks quite eye catching, and that is with the current churn. (Source »gigaom.com/2009/02/19/sp ··· cribers/).

With that said, and with Sprints excellent coverage and money-saving plans, this was a great move on Fords part to attract those tech savvy people. Its unfortunate they do not provide coverage in your area, but that's no reason to talk down about a company whos prices are geared much better for this economy than that of any other..

(and coverage is excellent, Ive got att and Sprint, Sprint beats att hands down on both calls and data up the entire east coast of the U.S. [at least where I've been] - and no not just cities but rural areas as well)
You sounds like a Sprint shill. Sorry 80 mil > than 50 mil any day of the week. sprint isnt any cheaper. Excellent coverage? Type in my zip and compare coverage. Sprint's 3G sucks compared to Verizon. 95% of my state had 3G coverage Sprint maybe 10% if that.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4 to 88615298

Member

to 88615298
And you claim that ATT's 3G is better? you must also forget that Sprint's EVDO roams on Alltel who's network will be transfered fully to Verizon soon.

••••

RVAguy
Premium Member
join:2006-01-05
Richmond, VA

RVAguy to 88615298

Premium Member

to 88615298
With Sprint, you get free roaming which is on Verizon's network (voice).(as long as 50% of your minutes aren't roaming) - that pretty much covers the whole country then.

I do see where Camden is not on Sprint's map and is only on I-40.

The problem with Verizon is they don't need partners. Sprint is looking to pull subs from Verizon and ATT and this is one way it can be done (even though you may not others will).

I think Hesse will be successful in turning Sprint around. The have great plans and the hardware is starting to catch up with the rest. Even, if you remain 3rd, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you start turning profit

Nerdtalker
Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?
MVM
join:2003-02-18
San Jose, CA

Nerdtalker

MVM

Re: Too bad Sprint's 3 G is non existant

The two also do roam Ev-Do on each other, if you're tricky enough to figure out which older PRLs prefer Verizon over regional carriers (Alltel, which is admittedly now Verizon), and the registry edit to open up the roaming preferences options on the Windows Mobile devices.

Heck, you can even force roam on them 24/7 if you want. But there's a soft ~250 MB cap.
Nerdtalker

Nerdtalker to 88615298

MVM

to 88615298
::rolls eyes::

Why is it, inevitably, when anyone mentions a mobile carrier, everyone needs to jump in with their (pointless) anecdotal advice, evidence, stories, e.t.c. I mean, one anecdotal data point totally has changed around my impressions on the matter. (88615298 See Profile, this isn't directed at you personally, but rather at just about everyone who talks out of some dark orifice and makes generalizations about coverage based solely on their experiences in probably a very localized area. This is also another reason for FCC mandated, standardized, street-level maps of signal strength across carriers, so that everyone can see who is really better).

No one carrier is best everwhere, coverage is highly dependent on your particular market. Take my area, for example. I used to be on Cricket. Don't ask why, it was a decision which was made for me many, many years ago. Last year, I decided it was time for a change, so I did some of my own testing before deciding on a particular carrier. The GSM offerings where I live were out, AT&T is virtually nonexistent up in the foothills where I live, so much so that it literally is common knowledge. T-Mobile didn't have any 3G network at all. That left CDMA carriers Verizon, Sprint, and Alltel.

What did I do? I took my HTC Apache, downloaded the latest PRLs for each of the three carriers (from the corolada page: »corolada.com/prl/ ), loaded them into the radio stack, and went for a drive. At each of my primary locations, I simply read and recorded the signal strength and quality properties using FieldTrial.exe on Windows Mobile for both 1x (Voice) and Ev-Do (Data). In the majority of locations (which mattered to me), Sprint beat the other two.

Sprint and Verizon are definitely the two top-tier 3G carriers right now. Believe it. AT&T's 3G network is struggling to keep pace with the influx of iPhone customers, their backhaul is inadequate at best, nonexistent at worst, and just plain rushed. T-Mobile didn't even have a 3G network until recently, hell, they just released their first 3G USB modem.

Who does that leave? Oh yeah, the CDMA giants Verizon and Sprint who have had EvDo built out, deployed, and even signed roaming contracts on each others networks.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Oh, great!

Now these jack-ass truck drivers won't just be on the cell phone...but on their computers as the swerve towards me, block the passing lane and tailgate.

Noah Vail
Oh God please no.
Premium Member
join:2004-12-10
SouthAmerica

1 recommendation

Noah Vail

Premium Member

As somebody in this mix...

I have something to add.
I've been servicing one of the largest Ford Truck dealers in the Southeast for 5 years now. I provide EVDO hotspot service for them; for offsite sales. I also just signed onto a sprint broadband service a few months ago.

I think I have all the bases covered on this one.

First, our dealership is one of the few that has shown a consistent profit for over 6 months now. So much so that they are expanding and improving their interests.

Whatever losses Ford may have been posting, they've been offsetting it by stockpiling huge sums of cash for most of a decade. That's why they can afford to turn down stimulus offerings.

Second, Ford's trucks are consistently pretty good. They lean more toward minimally decked out models where as GM focuses on the luxo-boats. Not long back, Ford offered a 4door 3/4ton crew cab with bed and minimal amenities for 16k out the door. We couldn't get enough to sell.

Third, in THIS area, Sprint's coverage is above average. They have fewer dead zones than AT&T and Verizon. All 3 have kick butt 3G when the signal is good. However, Sprint reaches into all the dead zones that the other two can't reach. I've been quite happy with them.

I've carried and evaluated all three data carriers in the last 18 months. All in all, I prefer Sprint. Their customer service has been excellent. I'm pretty optimistic toward the venture.

This concept will work out. Just wait and see for your self.

NV
raybrett
join:2001-02-20
Saint Louis, MO

raybrett

Member

Re: As somebody in this mix...

It isn't a good idea for me. I might but a vechicle with such a device installed if I couldn't get it without, but I would not activate the service.

Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium Member
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

Anonymous_

Premium Member

cops

Cops will beable to track you

also the goverment too

•••

mikey
@embarqhsd.net

mikey

Anon

Yay for technology!

Now people will be able to surf the Internet and watch video while they're driving - technology continues to make our world a better, safer place for everyone!