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Sprint Allows LTE Service Over Mobile Virtual Network

Posted by Soulskill on from the inviting-competition dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "In the past, carriers like Sprint have placed restrictions on their Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) to prevent them from competing directly against the carriers. The MVNOs were forced to sell budget service and budget technology. But Businessweek reports that the Galaxy S III has began shipping to customers of MVNO Ting, officially making Ting the first carrier to offer an LTE service without owning an LTE network. 'All the market trends we're talking about today are allowing us to be competitive at the high end,' says Elliot Noss, CEO of Ting, adding that Sprint has stripped off the last remaining obstacles to MVNOs competing with it on equal terms. Virtual carriers are experimenting with new pricing models, such as Ting's metered voice and data plans, that run counter to the way big operators have always sold their services. So far, only a minority of customers finds these new types of models appealing, but it's a growing minority, says Noss. MVNOs all but died out in the last decade, victim to their own over-segmentation of the market and the only survivors were the ones who kept their focus on the budget prepaid segment like TracFone. But nine months ago, AT&T and T-Mobile started selling data and voice airtime by the bucket, which gives MVNOs much more flexibility in pricing. Even more significantly, carriers started working directly with MVNOs to craft unique plans in exchange for a percentage of the plans' revenues. In the meantime, prepaid operators such as Leap Wireless are already selling the iPhone, and it's only a matter of time before the economics are right for Sprint to lift its iPhone restriction as well. 'I'll put it this way: I would be disappointed if we didn't have the iPhone by next summer,' says Noss. 'That kind of holdback of iconic devices is beginning to make less and less [business] sense.'"

11 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. Meanwhile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Europe continues to laugh at the ridiculous, broken US cellphone market. Europe also continues to laugh at our broadband land-line market, our free and premium TV markets, and pretty much anything related to telecommunications.

    1. Re:Meanwhile... by afidel · · Score: 2

      Really? The US has three LTE providers, how many does the UK have, how many does Germany have? Can you roam between them (especially on LTE) without being raped in the pocket book? My wife has nationwide coverage with 300 voice minutes, 2.5GB of 3G data, unlimited texts all for only $25/month. That's competitive with any offer available anywhere in the world and with a much larger coverage area.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    2. Re:Meanwhile... by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      by afidel (530433) Alter Relationship on Wednesday September 05, @08:21AM (#41235127)

      Really? The US has three LTE providers, how many does the UK have, how many does Germany have? Can you roam between them (especially on LTE) without being raped in the pocket book? My wife has nationwide coverage with 300 voice minutes, 2.5GB of 3G data, unlimited texts all for only $25/month. That's competitive with any offer available anywhere in the world and with a much larger coverage area.

      Actual network operators in Europe aren't much more than the US - it's just that there's enough regulations (evil! evil!) that ensure that you can have a pile of MVNOs providing competitive services.

      That's basically what makes Europe different - the actual infrastructure providers are forced to share with competitors. And those competitors don't have to own any equipment (the "virtual" part of MVNO).

      Of course, the US will work itself in a tizzy if any sort of law like that were to be introduced by either side.

      Hell, when Canada introduced AWS band carriers (e.g., Wind, Mobilicity), the big carriers objected and threw up enormous roadblocks. You can expect even more lobbying should someone even make a peep about sharing infrastructure.

    3. Re:Meanwhile... by davester666 · · Score: 2

      Really? The EU has legislated multiple rate reductions for roaming texting and calling rates [and I think also data, but they are at least working on data] over the last 5 years.

      Meanwhile, in the US, it's free Enterprise all the way. The best you can do is:
      a) pay extra every month to get slightly lower roaming rates
      b) tell your provider to cut you off or at least text you when you hit a particular amount of roaming fee's

      Actually, it's worse, because in the US, your phone is carrier-locked by default, so you have to buy another phone if you want to put in a local SIM and pay local rates, while in the EU, phones are normally unlocked.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Staying Relevant by rsmith-mac · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unfortunately this isn't all that surprising. With the market failure of WiMAX in the US, Sprint has been put in a very bad position overall. At this point it's everything the company can do just to stay relevant, particularly when the big two (VZ and AT&T) are ahead of you in both coverage and LTE deployment and "little" T-Mobile has a lock on the cities by offering good prices combined with fast speeds (3G DC-HSPA+).

    Meanwhile Sprint's network is still almost entirely composed of a last generation CDMA network, unless you're fortunate enough to be in Atlanta where their first LTE deployment is. Even then the performance sucks thanks to the fact that they are deploying their LTE network on such a high frequency.

    Because of these reasons, expect to see Sprint do more "crazy" things like MVNO LTE. They're not going to win in a price war, a speed war, or a coverage war; they're going to have to keep throwing things at the wall until they find something that reverses their fortunes, if such a thing can be found in time.

    1. Re:Staying Relevant by wytcld · · Score: 2

      I've been a Ting customer since a month after they started. We have two smartphones, both with 3G, one with WiMAX. Here in northern New England 3G is all any carrier has. Sprint's network lags Verizon's slightly - and while Ting has free voice roaming there's no data roaming at all. But Sprint's 3G isn't overtaxed. Works well for us, especially with the free tethering for our laptops. If we want to stream huge media files we use our wired connection at home. Meanwhile our combined bill averages less than $30 a month. Of course, that's after paying for the phones outright. What would this cost us on Verizon ... or Sprint? (Neither AT&T nor T-Mobile is even present here.)

      When we visit cities with WiMAX, that works decently too, a nice boost. If we want LTE later, we'll have to buy another phone. But we're saving enough on the monthly bill to easily afford one by then. The WiMAX arrangement with Sprint may even work out, in a way. They're keeping WiMAX lit for a least a few more years, and meanwhile the Clearwire spectrum that WiMAX is on - and far from saturating - is enabling Clearwire to do an LTE buildout that's on superior frequencies to what anybody else has for LTE, in terms of bandwidth density. Sprint, as majority owner of Clearwire, is first in line for that.

      And Ting is so much a better deal for normal users than anything else, while still presumably giving Sprint a nice profit, that it should end up a very successful way to pull customers away from Verizon and AT&T - which by both polls and anecdotes, few people like. And Verizon in particular, as an enemy of net neutrality as well as a notorious union buster - why would anyone with a conscience buy from them?

      --
      "with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
  3. Sprint MVNO's already sell the iphone by Kotoku · · Score: 2

    I see it in stores all the time, Virgin Mobile (runs off the Sprint network) sells the iPhone currently, latest model as well.

    http://www.virginmobileusa.com/iphone

    For taking the time to highlight one specific phone, seems funny to miss such a highly marketed appearance of the device.

    --
    AnimePapers.org: Anime Wallpapers Handled With Care
  4. Staying in line. by Ostracus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Staying relevant isn't just a Sprint thing. It also applies to all the others with people fleeing contracts. The clue is in the article were the major names want a piece of the action. It's like the cable carriers giving Netflix and Hulu better terms if they get a cut.

    --
    Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
  5. It's only a minority because of Sprint by sohmc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So far, only a minority of customers finds these new types of models appealing, but it's a growing minority

    As far as I know, Sprint is the only carrier that does this. If every carrier was forced to allow this type of competition, I'm sure it would become the majority.

    I hate having to carry a contract with AT&T for two years. Phones are only discounted because you sign the contract. It would seem logical, then, that your monthly fee would decrease afterword but this is simply not the case.

    --
    We don't live in Shouldland.
  6. Stop Feeding The Beast! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Stop feeding the beast. You accepting a 2 year contract is feeding the beast. Stop it.

  7. Virgin Mobile is not an MVNO by GoChickenFat · · Score: 2

    Virgin Mobile wholly owned by Sprint. Sprint completed purchase of VM over two years ago.