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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Re: Same excuse.... Most companies end up making excuses for changes, as they don't have staff to implement them. With many mega corps doing hack/slash layoffs, its skeleton crew doing maintenance work.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
| | Jonbo298
join:2004-01-12
Council Bluffs, IA | The best excuse I saw was the line can't handle dry DSL and that it would wreak havoc on the copper | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Re: Same excuse.... I've heard that one... 'the copper will oxidize' (Bell Canada I think ) unless the circuit is energized.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
| | 
sprintspeed
@comcast.net
| We just got training on this the other day. The prorated ETF's are to start with the new scheduled release of Ensemble (billing system) by Nov 9th. This only applies to new contracts, so new activations or contracts renewed prior will not have prorated ETF's. | |
| mlundin
join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS
 ·Sunflower Broadband
·Comcast
1 edit | Who cares? Sprint is a has-been of a company. It's only a matter of time before they either fold or get sold in parts to their competitors... then it won't matter what their ETF policies are.
Edit: Just looked it up: Sprint, once worth $74+/share is now worth ~$3.64/share having posted losses in 2006, 2007, and the most recent quarter. That's a hell of a company right there. | |
| | xenophon
join:2007-09-17
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Re: Who cares? said by mlundin  :Sprint is a has-been of a company. It's only a matter of time before they either fold or get sold in parts. They won't fold as they are a massive company that would be big enough to come out of Chapt 11, which they are nowhere near. But there is a huge chance they'll get sold off in parts as it is already happening...
Sprint Local - split off separately as Embarq
Sprint Xohm - to split off with Clearwire (though 51% owned by Sprint)
Sprint LDX - to be sold ATT or maybe MajicJack (hah)
Nextel - to be sold to current Alltel holding company after Verizon merger?
SprintPCS - to be sold to T-Mobile parent or SK Telcom?
Sprint backbone - to be sold to Level 3 or PSINet?
If Sprint doesn't completely sell these divisions to others, I could see divisions partially merging with others where Sprint is a part or majority owner and they become simply a holding company themselves.
They aren't a has-been company though. They still have over 50 million customers. Their revenue is greater than Apple, Coca-Cola, Disney, etc. | |
| | | mlundin
join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS
·Sunflower Broadband
·Comcast
| Re: Who cares? You're right about the revenue, but who cares if it doesn't result in profit? Apple, Coca-Cola, Disney? They all made money last year. Sprint didn't. 50 million customers? Yes, but losing more than they're gaining every day. Losing customers and money with no end in sight is the sign of a dying company. With a market capitalization of 10 billion, you're right, they probably won't fold... but you won't see their name around for long either. | |
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jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Who cares? Profit is not the only factor that indicates success. There are plenty of reasons why immediate profit is not warranted as a sole indicator of how a company is doing or if improvements are being made. If you buy your competitor, for instance, the numbers might be in the red for a few quarters, but that would not tell the whole story. While it does not look cheery right now for Sprint, I see them turning the corner and I am another happy customer. If they are spending what money they do have in the right places, which it seems like they are, it's quite possible that they could right this ship. | |
| | | | | mlundin
join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS
·Sunflower Broadband
·Comcast
| Re: Who cares? "Profit is not the only factor that indicates success."
I beg to differ. At exactly what point do we consider sustained quarterly losses in excess of $100 million a success? Profit is the ONLY factor that indicates success. If you can't turn a profit, you won't be in business for long. | |
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jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Who cares? said by mlundin :Profit is the ONLY factor that indicates success. If you can't turn a profit, you won't be in business for long. That is just not true unless you happen to be as short-sighted as the previous CEO's of many failing businesses. Sprint is losing money, but rather than have some pathetic knee-jerk reaction and fire middle management and "trim the fat" to turn piddly salaries into temporary revenue, they are actually spending money on things that seem to be helpful in the long run. A complete resurrection is not just going to happen by magic, Sprint needs to make some drastic changes. It looks as though they are doing just that, and what little information we can publicly find seems to indicate that at least they are making better decisions with their money than the competition.
Your idea of profit being the ONLY factor indicating success is EXACTLY what caused Sprint to be in the situation they are seemingly correcting. | |
| | | | xenophon
join:2007-09-17
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| said by mlundin :You're right about the revenue, but who cares if it doesn't result in profit? Apple, Coca-Cola, Disney? They all made money last year. Sprint didn't. Neither have any of the car companies, are they hasbeen companies? Probably not. Sprint is nowhere near Chapt 11 and one thing for sure, the network won't just shutoff. It would be sold before that happens.
Large companies don't fold but could morph into something else, which is my point.
I suspect they'll at least stabilize by next year or so and show a profit again. The Nextel division could be sold by then, making them a smaller (but still large) F200 company with promise while solving the source of their drainage problems.
The CDMA side is growing, not shrinking. Xohm will be separate, funded by other parties as well, reducing the risk. Sprint's Internet backbone is the second largest in terms of connections. | |
| | | | | mlundin
join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS
·Sunflower Broadband
·Comcast
| Re: Who cares? "Neither have any of the car companies, are they hasbeen companies?"
Some of 'em, yea. If you think that a ginormus company can't fold in a matter of days, you don't have to look too far to be proven wrong: Bear Stearns? Enron? Granted, these were epic collapses related to gross negligence and mismanagement, but no one ever thought Studebaker, once a Down Jones Industrial Average component, would fold either... then one day it just disappeared. Companies can just disappear, doesn't matter how big they are. In Sprint's case, there is substantial infrastructure that would certainly be valuable to someone, but they're a disaster waiting to happen. Size does not make a company invincible. | |
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Tarheels Fan
Premium
join:2006-01-05
 ·Embarq
| Sprint is turning things around. The CS is much better. The past 2 times I have used CS they have been great. I expected a hard time to get the old SERO plan added back to a line, but I had no problem. I just renewed my contract with the LG Lotus. You can't beat the coverage b/c of the roaming agreements with Verizon/ US cellular/ and Alltel. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Re: Who cares? Definitely a noteworthy metric for a company that's had a reputation for the bottom end of billing and customer service. A step in the right direction, IMO
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
| Re: Who cares? said by en102 :Definitely a noteworthy metric for a company that's had a reputation for the bottom end of billing and customer service. A step in the right direction, IMO How quick people forget. There was a time when AT&T was at the bottom of the pile. VZ/VZW.. OMG.. I just don't get it. Lots of people I talk to cry and moan about how much they cost, bad customer service.. but refuse to go anywhere else. I think those magic pills they feed their customers work really well..  | |
| George_Still
join:2002-03-13
Harrisburg, PA | 50 Million Customers How many of the 50 million have no other options? I know the reason some their customers are with Sprint due to no other options. | |
| 
RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY
| Fair Pro-Rated EFTs In my opinion, if I am offered the same phone on a "month-to-month no contract but pay for the phone" basis or one where I must sign a 1 or 2 year contact with an EFT but with the phone at a subsidized price, the EFT should reflect the amount of the subsidy and be reduced based on the term of the contract so that the subsidy is paid off as the the contact runs.
IOW (to use simple numbers) if the difference in cost for the phone (ie: The subsidy) is $240 less than a outright purchase with a 2-year contract then the EFT should be $240 and be reduced by $10 for each month that I use the phone. Since after 24 months I own the phone, the un-repaid subsidy with 2 months to go is just $20. Any attempt to start the EFT at more than the subsidy or have the EFT shrink slower than the subsidy is repaid is a rip-off. The SUPPOSED reason for the EFT is to repay the CellCO for the subsidizing the cost of the phone over the term of the contract so this method is fair to both sides.
If someone disagrees, please explain why and what is a fairer method. | |
| | Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | Government Should Require Fair Pro-Rated ETFs Not only are you right but this an area where government could and probably should protect consumers rather than providing corporate welfare. | |
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RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY
| Re: Government Should Require Fair Pro-Rated ETFs My above method of handling the EFT is based on not considering the question of interest (or "Cost of Money") but just treating it as a straight payment situation (or a Zero Interest Loan) and ignoring the question of amortization/etc. Taking those factors into account WOULD increase the original EFT and slow the decrease in remaining EFT due but not to the extent that the so called "Pro-Rated EFT" plans charge. The basic method would either pay off the $10 a month plus one month's interest on the remaining subsidy amount [ie: The monthly payments decrease each month) OR treat it as a normal fixed payment loan where the monthly reduction pays off one month's interest and the remainder pays down the principle. | |
| 
Rush8112
Premium
join:2007-11-07
Altoona, IA | Sprint hates to change My Sprint contract is up today 10-23-2008. I'll be going to U.S. Cellular next week  GOOD BYE SPRINT | |
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sprintdoesnt
@optonline.net
| sprint doesn't pro-rate it isn't in their blood... the best thing to do is not to give them your money to begin with.. then you'll be spared the nonsense of the "break-up" fees. even if their lowest common denominator is lower prices than the competition, they have a long, long, long way to go to getting back loyal customers... they've already written off the push-to-talk market to verizon... so there's not much left to go than screwing up the xhom market & unlimited everything markets as well. | |
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Sprint CEO Says They're Working On Pro-Rated ETFs
