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Sprint May Have Unlimited Data Plans, But Not Unlimited Customers
mitcheli writes "Sprint announced a Q2 loss of $1.6B as 2 million subscribers left their service. While Sprint remains one of very few carriers to continue to allow unlimited data on their networks, the failure to reconcile two competing network technologies (iDEN Nextel and CDMA Sprint) combined with the lack of upgrades to their network and degrading service prompted a mass exodus of subscribers from their network. Of course the fact that during the iPhone 5 release, Sprint openly advertised that their iPhone would not be carrier locked, only to turn around and push out an OTA two months later that locked them probably didn't help much either."
didn't help, either.
When I joined, the Evo 3D was $299. The Evo 4G was $199 (and already a year or so old at that point). I didn't want to pay the extra $100 for the 3D, so I got the 4G. However, the updates pushed to it made it extremely low on space before my two-year contract was up. My wife's phone was also acting up. But to get a new phone, we would have to pay full price. We could've done some early upgrade thing that also cost money, but it cost more than the ETF fee! That's right. We could pay more to stay with Sprint, or we could pay the cheaper ETF and go to T-Mobile with a cheaper monthly fee.
i'm on AT&T but looking to go to T-mo next year because the prices are actually cheaper. sure you get less LTE data, but i don't care. i have wifi at home and work. and LTE is more hype than anything else. i have two LTE phones i use daily and the real speeds are a lot slower because most of the content is virtualized and clouded to the point where the source is a lot slower than LTE
Sprint costs just as much as AT&T and Verizon and their data speed is too slow for what you pay
the unlimited data fiends who stream netflix/youtube/pandora 24x7 are a niche market and a small minority of the total smart phone user population
Its a great service as long as don't plan on using it like a phone and receive calls
While slashdot users may like to complain about carrier locking, your average US consumer doesn't really care. Why?
Because they typically get a discounted or free phone that locks them into a 2 year contract anyhow. And by the time 2 years are up, they want a new phone anyhow.
... it is raining on the sprint campus today.
Sprint's in the middle of a complete network overhaul (called network vision) that will bring LTE to almost every cell site by the end of 2014 while significantly upgrading both the antenna's and backhaul at most locations bringing better coverage and better speeds. It hasn't gone nearly as quickly as Sprint's original timetable laid out, but they're less than 6 months behind that fairly aggressive timetable. I know I come off sounding like fanboi but it really annoys me when people can't get their facts straight and use that lack of knowledge to tear down one of the last hopes we have for real competition in the cellphone market in the US. Not only does Sprint compete against the big boys but by being friendly to MVNO's they foster new concepts that help to drive down costs (see Virgin Mobile (now part of Sprint) and Republic Wireless for examples).
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
All Sprint has to do is figure out what the hell it's doing. Is it a business carrier? Then stop marketing to consumers and switch your Sprint network over to Nextel's "beep" two way phones. Is it a traditional cellular carrier? Then stop coddling Nextel's ancient tech and figure out a way to make it work on your own network, then kill off the other standard.
Step 2: Capital investment in major markets, fuck the burbs. 4G with unlimited data my friend, you will be making money hand over fist.
Step 3: Pay Google to use you as the 4G carrier for their tablets.
I'm on Virgin Mobile, which is essentially Sprint's prepaid service with no roam whatsoever. For the limited use I actually give my phone, it's mostly a safety net in case I have an emergency. At home, I use Google Voice via GrooveIP, and at work I just use the phone on my desk.
That said, their coverage, at least out here in the country, is awful. I'm not that far from Dallas/Fort Worth, perhaps an hour on a fairly main artery. To use mobile data at the office, I have to go outside, and to use mobile data at home, I have to both go outside and be very lucky. Voice works ok in most cases, if I can get reception. Which I sometimes cannot get at all at home or the office, but on my commute is just fine.
Spotty networks cost customers. I occasionally consider changing, but there's no particular hurry as low as my usage and need is. For $35 a month, it's about the cheapest I'm likely to find.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
From TFA: "Its [defection of] customers largely came from the Nextel side, where it lost 1.3 million customers. But Sprint's own prepaid and wholesale businesses also suffered losses. Only Sprint's core service remained in the red, adding a net 194,000 customers in the period. "
IOW lack of upgrades and degraded service may have been problems, but they weren't the problems that led to the mass customer loss. It was Sprint shutting down PTT and former Nextel customers having no reason to stick around.
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.
Sprint was fine when i first got my phone, now it sucks. plain and simple...
I used Sprint for over 10 years, always with "unlimited" data and texting. That same service over doubled in cost during that 10 year timeframe. They never once updated coverage in my area. One time last year I was stranded in the center of downtown Dayton, Ohio and couldn't even get a signal to make a call!
Shitty reception, shitty prices, shitty customer service, shitty marketing, Sprint is just shitty all the way around.
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
When I switched to Sprint from AT&T, it was nearly half the price for 2 "smart" phones with data and one "feature" phone. Sure Sprint's coverage was nowhere near as good, but for the price difference it was worth it since it worked OK in most of the places I was at anyway. Over time their signal quality has not improved, actually I'd say it's degraded quite a bit, and their pricing has gone up. If I were to renew my contract on the plans they offer today, I'd be within $10 per month of Verizon's plans with the amount of data we actually use. Add to this the fact that Sprint doesn't have LTE in my area, yet they only offer new phones with LTE data, not the older WiMax 4G. I'd have to downgrade my data speed to "early upgrade" our phones, and they aren't offering any kind of discount until LTE is in place. They won't even give an estimate of when LTE will be available. I talked to a Sprint rep a couple of weeks ago and was told they have tower techs working in this area, but they were working on a 3G capacity expansion, not an LTE upgrade.
I've been with Sprint now for about 10 years, but unless something changes (in a big way) in the next 5 months before my contract runs out, I'm highly likely to be joining the mass exodus.
Wasn't Sprint acquired by the Japanese company, SoftBank? I hear they are one of the decent providers in Japan, although they don't let you unlock phones. I know this because my GF is Japanese and she came to NYC with a Softbank Iphone5 and there was nothing we could do to get it Sim Unlocked so that she may use it here in the USA.
I actually use Sprint for my cell service. Its mediocre at best and not that cheap. For 3 lines, 2 of them with the Internet Upgrade for LTE/4G and an additional 15$ a month for Unlimited calling/texting to Thailand I pay around 200$ a month. The cell service drops all the time and a lot of times I have to try 3 or 4 times before I can make a call. The internet is so horrible. Right now I'm just waiting for the 3rd line on my service to be at no contract status so I can cancel all 3 lines and move to something else.
the final straw was 3 years ago when they forced me to start paying a 4G fee (when I upgraded to a 4G-capable phone) despite the fact that 4G isn't available in my area.
as of several months ago, it still wasn't... that would have been several hundred dollars in fees over the years all for a service they're not providing me.
I live in KC where they're headquartered and had them 10 years ago or so. The service was atrocious, which I can't wrap my head around considering this is their turf and their employees *must've* heard complaints every single time they told someone where they work.
They apparently got better for some time, but if they're stupid enough to fall back into that same hole they deserve to get bought out.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
Sprint hasn't made a profit in more that 5 years.
That's why I had to leave Sprint after many years of being a customer: degrading network, and a poorly handled network upgrade in my city.
Having an unlimited plan means nothing if you can't do a simple google search.
The final straw for me was one day when I was running errands all over the city, and kept trying to look up something online but couldn't get connected no matter where I was; at that point I had to ask myself what I was paying for anymore.
I recently switched to Ting. They are an MVNO on the Sprint network. They are pay only for what you use, no contract, no limits. I dropped my monthly bill from $90 a month, I had a 25% employer discount, to $30 a month. They have great customer service and you never have to wait on hold. You can buy one of their phones or you can bring your own Sprint device.
Here is a code to get your $25 credit on your account if you setup a new account with them.
https://zob29f136i3.ting.com
but you fucktarded USians want your precious "individual liberties" so much that you are brainwashed into believing that the free market will cure everything
You're not terribly far off, but still significantly. The people here are indoctrinated to believe that they are granted freedoms, and that they must support a fascist system to maintain those freedoms.
Very few Americans actually understand about liberty and free markets because those choices are told to be dangerous to them. The government and its schools work against liberty and free markets at most opportunities.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Sprint has been weighed down by the horrible acquisition of Nextel. They were paying for two networks but only one network's worth of customers.
The loss of these subscribers was intentional and predicted well in advance as Sprint finally shutdown the Nextel platform. They already recaptured the more valuable customers onto the Sprint platform and made a strategic decision to let some go because the equipment fees and/or discounts made it unprofitable to keep them.
Part of the financial write downs was paying lease termination fees on backhaul and sites to shut down redundant Nextel locations. They won't ever post a quarter like this again; the Nextel bleeding has finally been stopped and their cost structure will only improve going forward. If you check the Sprint platform, they are still adding subscribers and revenue is up.
They have also closed the Clearwire deal, allowing them to move forward deploying 2.5Ghz spectrum but that won't really bear fruit until next year when handsets start shipping with support for those frequencies. Now that iDEN SMR 850Mhz is shut down, they can deploy the 3x3 LTE channel in that space which should make a huge diffence for indoor coverage. They have been planning this during Network Vision (their modernization effort that is running fiber to every tower along with LTE) to deploy the Nextel spectrum. All the newer handsets already support it, including the iPhone 5. At the newest upgraded towers they don't even have to roll a truck, the equipment is already installed and can even have the downtilt remotely adjusted.
They aren't stupid... Network Vision is running fiber to almost every tower with microwave bounces for the few that can't get it. The backhaul is all minimum 1Gbps, software upgradable, so they can just turn on more backhaul with a keystroke... The old network was all T1s, requiring a 4-6 week wait on the phone company. The new antennas are more sensitive, can be remotely tilted, and support more frequencies. The LTE gear is all software-upgradable to LTE-Advanced.
They had two major problems. LTE equipment wasn't ready prior to their must-build deadlines for the 2.5Ghz spectrum and they were severely hampered in capital spending due to the Nextel boat anchor. They foisted off the 2.5Ghz spectrum on some investors to help offset the cost and protect the spectrum, probably knowing WiMax was a dead end. Boost was a way to help offset the cost of iDEN with prepaid customers they could jettison later.
Now that SoftBank has solved the capital problem, they own the 2.5Ghz spectrum again, and they are rolling out fiber/LTE, they should be able to challenge the dualopoly on equal footing relatively soon. My city is one of the LTE launch markets and the difference between the old and new networks is night and day.
Once you understand these things, you realize that Sprint is a good play, albeit somewhat risky. The market just goes off headlines (often completely bogus ones, see every Apple story ever) and freaks out. Those are excellent buying opportunities if you understand what is really going on with a company.
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
I am perfectly happy with my non smart prepaid Samsung phone with AT&T. Its a dumb phone, but serves all my needs. Only costs me $25 every three months, so its like $8.33\month.
You all are stupid to pay so much for smart phones.
I've just switched from Verizon to Sprint, mainly because of Verizon's changes to data plans which they are forcing current users into. There is little point in sticking around and paying $240+ a month for 3 smart phones and 8 to 10GB of data w/ Verizon. Sprint is $180 a month for 3 smart phones w/ unlimited data. Verizon may be faster but w/ caps so low that's pointless. I can't help but fell that the caps are that low to force you into overages. Sprint is slated to roll out 4G in my area by Q3 2013, i'm guessing when that happens Sprint will be the better deal by far.
Why pay more for an unlocked phone? So you aren't in a contract, they don't give you a discount on services. It makes no sense that they make a person with a locked or unlocked or out of contract phone pay the same amount. Make it worth my while and I'll bring my own phone to the game.
I bought an EVO 4G when they first game out. The sprint network is so slow in San Diego I couldn't stream Youtube on low quality. When my contract expired I immediately switched to T-Mobile pre-paid and got a Galaxy Nexus. The T-Mobile network is better.
I haven't looked at the report so I don't know but since Sprint is the sole owner of both Boost and Virgin Mobile I'd be curious to know if their sales numbers are added in to Sprints total bottom line or if they are kept separate.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
I'm on Sprint. It sucks. To say their service is spotty is a huge understatement. I wouldn't even call them a national carrier. I spent a week up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire recently, and I didn't get a single moment of cellular service for the entire duration of my trip. Now, I know the White Mountains are somewhat remote, but my girlfriend's AT&T phone seemed to have service more often than not.
I'm out of contract with Sprint. I could leave for an affordable T-Mobile. I could leave for a Verizon's awesome coverage. I could go with AT&T so I can talk and surf (2G/3G) at the same time. But I'm staying with Sprint instead. Why? Because I put my money where my mouth is.
All you assholes complaining about capped data plans, what the fuck are you doing to support Sprint's efforts? Everyone that complains that telecommunications companies have no incentive to increase network capacity due to laughable data transfer caps, are you financially supporting Sprint to make a statement? Why the hell not?
I don't even use much cellular data, mostly because Sprint's network is so god damn slow and spotty. But you know what? I'm doing my fucking part. If everyone started lining up to switch to Sprint to get their unlimited plan, it would not only finance Sprint's build out of increased capacity, but also send a clear message to other [more capable] carriers that consumers are tired of being gouged by laughable limits on their phone usage. So here I am, with my shitty cell service, taking one for the team, with the hope that other like-minded individuals will join me, and things will change. But all you other like-minded individuals seem to lack any sense of principle. Next time you find yourself fretting about potentially exceeding your data cap, remember this post. Remember me saying in no unclear terms: "Fuck you."
'Unlimited data' would get me over to them _if_ the other problems were solved.
Of course if the other problems were solved, they would have no need to offer "unlimited" data. Sprint isn't offering that because they are nice guys. They are offering it because they are getting their asses handed to them by Verizon and AT&T and it is a way to draw in customers that would otherwise go elsewhere.
Such an inept company. Their wimax was a failure, their customer service is a failure, their coverage is a failure, the acquisition of Nextel was a failure. I am surprised they have any customers left.
Not in the slightest. I used to work for Sprint. Their upper management act like a bunch of high schoolers competing to see who is most popular and steal all the credit from underlings that they can to play politics with. They also encourage management by fear and good employees are often run off because of that. No one does their best job when the threat of unemployment is constantly dangled over their heads. The NOC was run, when I was there 10ish years ago, by a bunch of really competent guys and gals who were usually hamstrung by the office politics in upper management and prevented from making the service all it could be. To be perfectly honest, you're lucky a Sprint phone work at all. They've even tried to hire me back before and at a time I needed a job. I kind of like working in telecom (still do for a competitor), but I'd flip burgers before going back into that cesspool of corporate inadequacy and petty office politics. Whenever family or friends ask who they should get for their cell service, I tell them anyone but Sprint (and T-Moble).
My recent Sprint to T-Mobile switch was per the need to replace a failing phone, and Sprint's inability to offer a price comparable to what I'd pay T-Mobile on a new activation. I spoke to two different agents, telling them specifically that I'd leave if they didn't offer me a better deal. In all fairness, I'd previously switched from T-Mobile to Sprint for the same reason. There must be some accounting reason why both carriers would sooner lose a ($99/mth, auto-paid on time every month) customer rather than offer replacement phones at lower cost to retain them. They both got me to switch by discounting the phones anyway.
your average US consumer doesn't really care. Why?
Because they typically get a discounted or free phone that locks them into a 2 year contract anyhow.
I don't care because of the contract. I was going to be with a carrier that long anyway.
I care because I travel and I like to use other sims when traveling. That's why it may in fact matter even to the average US consumer. Especially true as the population grows older, more people retire - and travel.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
My brother was saying that T-mobile benefited immensely in the failed take over big by AT&T. Apparently they had fine print, saying AT&T should give T-Mobile some 3 billion dollars and access to its network, if the deal was stopped by the Feds. So suddenly T-Mobile's coverage area increased tremendously and got some money too. But other are saying that still, T-mobile's coverage is its weak spot.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dhn7PWEhdw
this is complete and utter bolshevik!
I'm on a prepaid TMo plan, and the voice quality is quite good when calling either another T-Mobile customer or a landline. After years of crap voice quality on AT&T via Tracfone, T-Mobile is like a breath of fresh air.
In general, I'm happy with the service when I'm in the Chicago area, but once I get out of the metro area, there are a couple of big problems: first, a lot of their rural/small-city coverage is still EDGE or even GPRS (guys, it's 2013, GPRS shouldn't even be a thing anymore), and there are some big holes in their coverage. In certain areas, I can roam onto AT&T or other GSM-based regional carriers, though data roaming is unavailable on prepaid and severely limited on postpaid accounts. There are other areas, though (Pana, IL for instance), where no roaming is allowed at all and my phone gets no service.
Forget about audio streaming when you're out of their HSPA+/LTE footprint.
Oh, no! You have walked into the slavering fangs of a lurking grue!
Also on my way out. What good is unlimited data if it takes ten minutes to fail to open a webpage - regardless of where I am?
SF? Phoenix? Denver? Chicago? Philly? The location does not matter. The service... isn't.
Apparently, you do get what you pay for.
I worked for Sprint for 2 years. Their customer service is what kills them. They had the best service (proven) but worst customer service. It was to the point that someone calls in to change their plan, done wrong, charged double etc. Reps were handcuffed by Sprint not able to credit accounts to fix. Retarded amount of outsourcing to non English speaking agents who don't know how to use the system. I used to hear "thank god you speak English" from SO many people. They used to tell me they were closing their service for that reason.
Just like everybody who pisses their money -- and the US economy -- away with the latest "cool gadget" manufactured in Japan, Sprint Shareholders have just said a collective "Give me money and stuff! You (us, the people who have given them our money for the past decade) are unimportant and you're all suckers!"
Yes, sell out to Japan. Give up all our jobs to low-wage workers. Buy 10-times more crap than you need from Walmart and say "but I couldn't afford all this if it we're for Walmart!" Shop at Costco and buy your coffee ten pounds at a time: "Aw honey, don't bother with a carafe for the coffee, let it burn. We'll just dump it out and put on another pot! Who cares! We have ten lbs of coffee!" Sell all our big manufacturing companies to China, Japan, Korea, Philippians, choose your products solely on cost, not accountability and moderate needs/consumption.
Next year everyone will be bitching about caps below 50GB per weeks. Sheesh.
In regard to Sprint as a service company -- I happen to have liked being able to carry on with my life, manage my house, career, relationships, etc., and make phone calls, without my cell phone carrier constantly changing my plan and bill format all the time. I've been with Verizon and AT&T on occasion, and it only ever takes a few weeks before I remember why I hate those companies. For my cell phone, I've been with Sprint for 12 years and it's been great. Excellent customer service, reliable calls, free roaming and free TXT, all for a low price (albeit I'm on on SERO). The exceptions have been slow phone introductions and recent very low options on tablets (I'm not an Apple fanboy) -- and they used to have a bunch of Atom netbooks, but no more.
Alas, the end is near. For whatever the biggest reason(s) for the exodus, I will not send 78% of my monthly to a foreign bank. Goodbye Sprint!
$2 million customers at a conservative $100/month contract * 3 months (1 quarter) $1,600 million loss. They can blame lack of customers all they want, but there is obviously something else causing the issue. Where is the other $1b loss coming from?
For the last 6 months it has been $100 cheaper to get a new phone on Sprint... but only if you are a new customer. That is, existing customers pay $100 more for the same new phone. It's cheaper to leave Sprint and return than it is to stay with them.
They want to attract new customers... but they shouldn't do it by shafting existing (good) customers. They should do it by showing that is valuable to be an existing good customer. But, they've forgotten that existing customers are a good thing.
This so-called free market actively works against a free market. They only want the market to be free for themselves, not for others.
I moved from ATT to Sprint the day that the HTC Evo 4G came out. I asked that day and they said "4G will be coming to this area in six months." 18 months later, WiMax 4G still hadn't come to the area, and Sprint had changed from deploying WiMax to LTE, so my Evo would never see 4G. They tried to sell me an LTE phone, and I politely advised them that I couldn't believe their deployment.
Meanwhile, their "unlimited data" users - many coming from other carriers at the time - were swamping Sprint 3G, which was the only service available to me. I ended up switching to Verizon before my Sprint contract was up (it cost me $50 since I was close to the end). My Verizon contract costs more, although I've not come close to hitting my data quota, and it's MUCH more usable and reliable.
Doug
Dont forget that sprint has more spectrum than any other carrier 185 vs ~105 mhz, which means that their overall incremental costs of network deployment are substantially lower.
I didn't care for Sprint or Nextel personally but I know several people of whom Sprint attempted to force-feed their service to after the merger but didn't want and/or like the Sprint offerings so they dumped Sprint altogether. Not a surprise that their customer base is dwindling.
Why I left after my two year contact ended. I signed up 3 years ago and bought the original EVO 4G (WiMax) on a plan that allowed you to upgrade your phone every year. 11 months into my contract they take away the ability the yearly phone upgrade eligibility. Failure to deliver #1. A few months later it becomes more than clear they are abandoning WiMax. Failure to deliver #2. During my contract period the tower(s) in the area where I work were consistently going offline. This would kill your phone battery while it searched and searched for signal After many support calls and talking with the Sprint rep at my work we hope something would eventually be done. Promised tower upgrades were "in progress" etc etc. It never got better. Failure #3.
I switched back to AT&T (Samsung GS3) and on our family plan a year ago. Better service, faster speeds, and cheaper. I here good things about Verizon in my area and may try them some day.
So long Sprint. I wish we never met.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
Sprint had decent 2G service in the early 2000. I remember the times when i roamed onto Verizon's analog 800 MHz network in the countryside. Smart phones were being introduced and used EDGE or GPRS if I remember correctly.
I was wondering how Sprint-Nextel is doing today. didn't know that Sprint was struggling after merging with Nextel. thanks for posting the news story.
I use Sprint via Virgin Mobile pre-paid service, but I don't use the high speed internet on my phone.
I wish Sprint the best, but their Wimax gamble over LTE and then the rate of expansion after changing their minds has been too much to bear, so I was one of the recent departures for T-Mobile. It doesn't help that their CMDA phones are not internationally operable, makes it tough to travel.
I met a guy a couple of weeks ago that told me, he contacted sprint and told them to start billing him every six months, and reminded them that he had cable for Internet, and a cell phone, and sprint did not offer him a single service he needs, so it was his way or the highway.
They went with His way.
At one point their 4G was nice in my area, beat out my Home Internet at one point. However it seems like the 4G WiMax service is in a state of decline. Can hardly get a 4G Signal at my house anymore, and anywhere else I go in Denver it's non-existent. For high speed I'm pretty much stuck with Wi-Fi. What I'm doing is moving to Boost Mobile, which though a Sprint Subsidiary is cheaper and will offer 4G LTE at the same time as Sprint when the LTE service here in Denver is ready. My rationale is a few things:
1) Boost Mobile is dirt cheap, for the price I'm paying now I'm willing to put up with near non-existent 4G
2) Don't need to worry about the lack of roaming, Sprint's voice/3G network is adequate for my needs, though I find myself somewhat envious of my friends on 4G LTE networks, when I compare phone bills I lose my envy real quick
3) If Sprint/Boost ever gets 4G LTE I'm Contract free and able to make the decision to get a hot new phone at the Sprint subsidy again (or another provider if I really get sick of Sprint/Boost and decide I need an awesome 4G network instead), no penalties involved
...in bed
I work as a telecommunications coordinator for a pretty large convention in the Pacific Northwest. We have traditionally used Nextel iDEN phones for our comms, and as a general rule worked without any major hiccups.
This year, we were forced to move off of iDEN (with the Nextel shutdown) to Sprint's more conventional network's push-to-talk service. It was a complete and total disaster. In addition to the fact that Sprint's building penetration is extremely poor, their network in downtown Seattle is overloaded, and the phones would regularly just put the data connection to sleep and simply lose alerts and PTT calls. Add to that: many of the group calling features we had with Nextel weren't even available. We couldn't build talk groups and have users join talk groups arbitrarily as they needed people in a particular department.
We will not be depending on Sprint for 2014, or for that matter, ever again.
I switched over to Virgin Mobile (Sprint's prepaid stuff) earlier this year. They're a year behind on Samsung phones, but phones are so powerful now that I don't care. I get unlimited data and text with it and 1200 minutes a month for $45. It's $35 for 300 minutes and unlimited data/text. I get 4G coverage where I am and everything works. And the 45 a month doesn't have 16 random fees tacked onto it like Verizon. It's 45 + sales tax. That's it. You can get the Samsung Galaxy SII with ICS for $200. Compare this to my verizon plan where I paid $67 a month for 450 minutes, 200 texts, and 300 mb of data. I think Sprint is doing just fine.
http://www.stocktonteesside.co.uk/ http://www.buzzolo.com/blog.html
@Rabtech: "Once you understand these things, you realize that Sprint is a good play, albeit somewhat risky. The market just goes off headlines (often completely bogus ones, see every Apple story ever) and freaks out. Those are excellent buying opportunities if you understand what is really going on with a company."
I've been waiting for this miracle to play out that you mentioned here for 3 years. All the while faithfully paying $10 a month for 4G service per phone when WiMax (let alone LTE) was no where to be seen in my area. Every time I called Sprint or went to a Sprint store, I was always given the line, "upgrades are underway and we expect to see 4G service in your area in a few months." ... It got to the point where the non-Sprint owned Sprint stores staff started saying, "honestly, I can't give you a straight answer."
So while I appreciate the great information you posted here and would really love to be with Sprint still because it is the company I felt most comfortable with, I am firmly aware that unless they do change something in a big way, statements like the ones you posted are vaporware. I certainly didn't write this article because I was reading headlines. The headlines are a reflection of the service those millions of customers have had to endure. Not the other way around.
Select from tblFriends where interesting >= 4;
My wife used her Samsung Epic side-slider for phone and hotspotting for her 1-person business office, and loved it. When it started having problems, Sprint talked her into an iPhone5. It didn't work well enough for hotspotting in our (fringe) area, silently losing internet connections frequently. Replacement iphone had the same response. When she tried to replace it with an S4 she was told "only after they received iphone at the warehouse by mail and contacted her". Her response - "You want me to give up my business phone for at least a week and wait for your call?". Them, "It's policy". Her: "Wow Verizon S4 is awesome, it is more expensive but LTE is really fast." Bottom line: For want of a single "upgrade eligible" flag in their database, Sprint lost a 15-year $110/month customer.