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Sprint Posts First Subscriber Gain Since Early 2007
Though CEO Warns They're Far From Mission Accomplished
Sprint today released their fourth quarter and 2010 earnings, which indicate the company posted a net addition of 58,000 postpaid subscribers in the quarter. That's obviously not much when compared to the massive additions of AT&T and Verizon, but it's notable because it's the first time Sprint has reported a subscriber gain whatsoever since the second quarter of 2007. "I'm not declaring mission accomplished yet, far from it," Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told investors on a conference call (probably good to note, since many analysts predict Sprint will lose subs again this quarter and they posted a $929 million loss). On the call Hesse also stated that the company would have some major news on their 4G migration path later this year, hinting at either Sprint's possible migration to LTE, Clearwire's new role as a purely wholesale operator, or both.
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baineschile
2600 ways to live
Premium Member
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI

baineschile

Premium Member

Yep

Going from 7 to 9 subscibers is a gain.

Love they announce this the same day the ViPhone is coming out

Veloslave
Geek For God
Premium Member
join:2003-07-11
Martinez, CA

Veloslave

Premium Member

Re: Yep

Was this gain using old math or new math?
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

1 recommendation

xenophon

Member

1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

quote:
Sprint added 1.1 million net subscribers during the quarter, the highest amount in almost five years. The number of net new postpaid customers, or subscribers who sign annual contracts for service, rose by 58,000 — the first increase since the second quarter of 2007. Prepaid customers, or those paying for service on a month-to-month basis, increased by 646,000.


Churn is also well below 2%, which is a good sign of a turnaround.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

The best sign of a turnaround was when Sprint decided to increase the data plans by $10 across the board for even non-4G enabled smart phones, along with their new policy that will see many customers losing the one year upgrade path as a qualifying Gold Premier member.

Those actions indicated to me that Sprint was through trying to coddle the customers and they were back on track to being a typical conglomerate in this industry.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

1 recommendation

xenophon

Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

However ATT/VZW also changed their data rates too and are higher. No meter watching on Sprint and overall plan still less.

QuakeFrag
Premium Member
join:2003-06-13
NH

QuakeFrag

Premium Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

Verizon still has the same $30 unlimited data plan. No meter watching.

cfasdfds3443
@thvilledigital.net

cfasdfds3443

Anon

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

No verizon doesn't

They will throttle you.

And they will throttle you for two billing cycles, which means you can/will spend 16months of your 24 throttled.....

QuakeFrag
Premium Member
join:2003-06-13
NH

QuakeFrag

Premium Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

said by cfasdfds3443 :

No verizon doesn't

They will throttle you.

And they will throttle you for two billing cycles, which means you can/will spend 16months of your 24 throttled.....

The specifics about throttling have not come to light yet.

Regardless, it is still unlimited.

fsdafsdfasd
@thvilledigital.net

fsdafsdfasd

Anon

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

You would like to call paying $30 a month and getting only 4months good normal speed data unlimited?

I have a alot of land to see you, its 2 billion but it has verizon's name cut in the grass.

QuakeFrag
Premium Member
join:2003-06-13
NH

QuakeFrag

Premium Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

I get "good normal speed" all the time, there is no throttling right now.

It is unlimited because there is no cap on bandwidth volume. That's the definition of unlimited I am using. It has nothing to do with speed.
rlharris02
join:2009-02-06

rlharris02

Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

Bro, you are a clear Verizon rep.

Trying to call throttle unlimited, and capping data throughput is not unlimited.

Also Verizon didn't drop there price when they changed to throttle Feb 1 2011.

If you go over there cap you will get throttled for two months, those are the facts.

QuakeFrag
Premium Member
join:2003-06-13
NH

QuakeFrag

Premium Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

I'm going by the industry definitions. Unlimited has nothing to do with speed.

Tell me, what is this cap (the value)? I want the facts.

»Verizon Tells Us New Throttling Isn't Implemented Yet [41] comments

Rambo76098
join:2003-02-21
Columbus, OH

Rambo76098 to rlharris02

Member

to rlharris02
Unlimited isn't throttled on VZW. I've gone over 5Gb/mo and kept getting 1-1.5 mbps like usual.

They've already said it hasn't started, and because it would be a material change of contract for those of us in contract with unlimited, it can only applie to new users signing their contract after the date of that policy document.
rlharris02
join:2009-02-06

rlharris02

Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

Here are the facts

»www.mobilecrunch.com/201 ··· quality/

Fact is they will and do throttle, you both are the perfect verizon sub.

Blind to facts, well when they throttle your home internet you will be happy im sure also.

Sad day to be an American.

Rambo76098
join:2003-02-21
Columbus, OH

Rambo76098

Member

Re: 1.1M additions including pre-paid, 58K post-paid

Ain't got them for home internet, if my ISP did throttle, I'd jump ship to one of the 3 others available.

It says plainly in the article you linked to they haven't started. And it says that it doesn't apply to those of us already in contract. And that article points out AT&T, Sprint, & T-Mo already reserve the right to do this as well.

By no means am I saying VZW is perfect or the right choice for everyone, just that your what you are saying is entirely wrong. They've provided me good service for the last 13 years, if that changed, there's several other providers I could switch to if I felt the others were better.

iLive4Fusion
Premium Member
join:2006-07-13

iLive4Fusion to fsdafsdfasd

Premium Member

to fsdafsdfasd
said by fsdafsdfasd :

You would like to call paying $30 a month and getting only 4months good normal speed data unlimited?

I have a alot of land to see you, its 2 billion but it has verizon's name cut in the grass.

Ill buy it because I know ill have coverage

Geminimind
Premium Member
join:2003-12-20
Sacramento, CA

Geminimind to QuakeFrag

Premium Member

to QuakeFrag
30 bucks and how much is is the other plan?
Geminimind

Geminimind to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
Yep for those whining about 10 bucks needs to go and look at how much VZW and ATT charge with a meter on top of that plus overage charges.

motoracer
join:2003-09-15
united state

motoracer

Member

Cancelled

Just cancelled Sprint today after having them a few years. $90/month for one phone is ridiculous. Switched to Virgin Mobile - unlimited data/text with 300 minutes = $25/month. If I want more minutes, I can do $40/month for 1200 minutes. CYA SPRINT!
Justin024
join:2010-08-11
Atlanta, GA

Justin024

Member

Re: Cancelled

Doesn't Sprint own Virgin Mobile?

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Re: Cancelled

said by Justin024:

Doesn't Sprint own Virgin Mobile?

From what I am seeing, they don't own it but it does use the network.

NM....I didn't read far enough

Geminimind
Premium Member
join:2003-12-20
Sacramento, CA

Geminimind

Premium Member

Re: Cancelled

Yes Sprint does work.

Frank
Premium Member
join:2000-11-03
somewhere

Frank to motoracer

Premium Member

to motoracer
congratulations...

you just switched from sprint to sprint.
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT

tired_runner

Premium Member

Re: Cancelled

lolz yup

xxa4hxx
@comcast.net

xxa4hxx to Frank

Anon

to Frank
lol, is all I can say. Someone didnt do their home work who owns virgin mobile. Just so u know sprint owns boost to incase you want to switch to that.

-illusion

motoracer
join:2003-09-15
united state

motoracer to Frank

Member

to Frank
said by Frank:

congratulations...

you just switched from sprint to sprint.

Yes, I knew/know that, but I'm now paying $25/month vs $90/month. I had great service with Sprint, so it's win win for me!

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

toby

Member

Re: Cancelled

The coverage of Virgin mobile and the non-roaming keeps most people away, but if it works for you, good stuff. I know many who are happy with it too.

motoracer
join:2003-09-15
united state

motoracer

Member

Re: Cancelled

said by toby:

The coverage of Virgin mobile and the non-roaming keeps most people away, but if it works for you, good stuff. I know many who are happy with it too.

I've only seen the roaming symbol on my Sprint phone twice - both times when I was out in the boonies. Shouldn't be too big of a deal to me. And if I'm saving $65/month, I'll suck it up

mix
join:2002-03-19
Romeo, MI

mix to motoracer

Member

to motoracer
You also just paid full retail price for a new Virgin phone vs a subsidized price for whatever phone you had from Sprint before didn't you?

motoracer
join:2003-09-15
united state

motoracer

Member

Re: Cancelled

said by mix:

You also just paid full retail price for a new Virgin phone vs a subsidized price for whatever phone you had from Sprint before didn't you?

Yep, $150 for their new Android phone - no contract.

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David to Frank

Premium Member

to Frank
said by Frank:

congratulations...

you just switched from sprint to sprint.

You are the recipient of the David See Profile award, you made me laugh out loud...

Geminimind
Premium Member
join:2003-12-20
Sacramento, CA

Geminimind to motoracer

Premium Member

to motoracer
You do realize you are still with Sprint.

motoracer
join:2003-09-15
united state

motoracer

Member

Re: Cancelled

said by Geminimind:

You do realize you are still with Sprint.

...really? Read the whole thread...

Rambo76098
join:2003-02-21
Columbus, OH

Rambo76098

Member

Re: Cancelled

His point stands, you're still on Sprint's network, just paying them thru Virgin.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

iPhone?

An iPhone on Sprint would be a great win for the company...

Chances?

dcurrey
Premium Member
join:2004-06-29
Mason, OH

dcurrey

Premium Member

Re: iPhone?

As far as a technical standpoint shouldn't be hard. Verizion and Sprint both use CDMA. So the phone hardware is already in place.
nanaki333
join:2010-08-11
Chantilly, VA

nanaki333

Member

Re: iPhone?

not that i've done it, but you can probably unlock and clone the MEID from a sprint phone to the iphone and get it to work on there.
bugabuga
join:2004-06-10
Austin, TX

bugabuga

Member

Watch the next quarter

So I wonder what will happen next quarter when:
- $10 a month "premium" data fee comes into full swing
- No new exciting phones come out (I'll ignore the Kyocera mega-mutant-handset )
- Verizon runs with an iPhone, LTE
- AT&T adds unlimited Mobile to Any Mobile to their unlimited messaging/data (thus matching Sprint's in everything but evenings starting from 7PM)

•••••
QNSSPEED
join:2011-02-05
Ozone Park, NY

QNSSPEED

Member

sprint

I have Sprint and i pay about 148 every month thats with a 20% employee discount.

1. Htc evo eveything unlimited and i pay 29$ extra for the hotsppt
2. Samsung epic unlimited everything

I have tried to make up a similar plan with vzw,att,tmobile amd no one could come close to matching sprints plans.

••••

MNWatchdog
@medtronic.com

MNWatchdog

Anon

Sprint and IPhone

Hopefully Sprint will pick up the IPhone and if they are smart, which I think they are, they'll do it with the next revision of the IPhone which supposedly will be coming out this summer.