Network vision & LTE rollout

[NYCHitman1]

they said the same thing in hilton, ny but driving around the village showed only glacer-slow 3g. So, i switched to t-mobile where i get super fast lte, and only $30 per month for 5 gb of lte data. No wonder article i just read predicts loss of 90,000 subs this quarter. Outside investors are protesting Hesse salary bump in light of massive customer defections.

To be fair, Sprint is handcuffed due to money. No money = no network expansion. While the Softbank deal infused a good chunk of change into the company, I'm fairly certain they likely blew through that already.

 

[NYCHitman1]

That's odd.

Sister has an M8, I have a Mega 6.3, Spouse has a G2 and we all get voice that is quite clear in Manhattan, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn (Haven't tried Staten Island though).

TS

I agree. That is odd. Voice was never an issue in NYC on Sprint when I was with them for 7 years. The poor data network was always the problem.

 

[drexappeal]

I agree. That is odd. Voice was never an issue in NYC on Sprint when I was with them for 7 years. The poor data network was always the problem.

And to a certain extent, still a problem. I just hope the merger, if it is approved, makes both Sprint and T-mobile better.

 

[NYCHitman1]

And to a certain extent, still a problem. I just hope the merger, if it is approved, makes both Sprint and T-mobile better.

Personally, I'm going against the merger. I do not like the idea of it at all. It reminds me of Sprint & Nextel all over again.

 

[twospirits]

^ True

Going back to this

me and 3 friends on a lake.. fishing.
each with different service provider.
ATT, Verizon, Tmobile, Sprint.

we each watching some vids.. streaming.
Netflix, youtube, viki.com

only the girl on Sprint and seeing 4G...
she could NOT get fast enough data to stream!!!!

Without knowing the actual location, how far the site(s) is, its hard to tell why one can be better than another. And maybe its me, but if i am going fishing, I am going fishing and not watching videos, or streaming netflix. Unless you are an octopus with enough arms and hands to hold the fishing rod and phones all at the same time.

TS out

 

[dan330]

yes.. location is a big variable.
but more times than not.. the sprint phone is the only one having data issues.

yes.. fishing.. you would hope to be too busy to even want to play on your phone.
but that day .. our ice chest came home empty

per the merger with Tmobile. I think if Tmobile was grabbing Sprint.. it would be better for customers. if sprint get Tmobile.. they would screw up all the good changes happening at Tmobile.

 

[MLSS]

I live in the hills of Southeastern Ohio, and am surrounded by the Wayne National Forrest as well as a few state parks so getting new towers installed is hard for any carrier. Sprint did an amazing job of upgrading the existing towers and finding new tower sites. They just recently built a 4 Lane bypass around our community and most of it cuts through the National Forrest and 11 miles of new Highway and all but a half mile spot has lte.

 

[drexappeal]

Personally, I'm going against the merger. I do not like the idea of it at all. It reminds me of Sprint & Nextel all over again.

Only difference is, Nextel sucked so bad and wasn't quite at the level that T-Mobile is at. And, the talk is the T-Mobile executive team would be kept on, rather than the Sprint team.

 

[mrnyjet]

To be fair, Sprint is handcuffed due to money. No money = no network expansion. While the Softbank deal infused a good chunk of change into the company, I'm fairly certain they likely blew through that already.

I mis-stated. they lost 900,000 customers. t mobile used the billion from at&t to upgrade their network substantially. if sprint used the Softbank money to still have a crummy network, no wonder outside investors want Hesse's hide. just one dumb move after another.

 

[twospirits]

Personally, I'm going against the merger. I do not like the idea of it at all. It reminds me of Sprint & Nextel all over again.

Only difference is, Nextel sucked so bad and wasn't quite at the level that T-Mobile is at. And, the talk is the T-Mobile executive team would be kept on, rather than the Sprint team.

I mis-stated. they lost 900,000 customers. t mobile used the billion from at&t to upgrade their network substantially. if sprint used the Softbank money to still have a crummy network, no wonder outside investors want Hesse's hide. just one dumb move after another.

Its posts like these that make me go hmmmm.
While it is true that many are comparing Sprints' latest merger decisions like the Sprint-Nextel one in the past, and stating that "history will repeat itself", I don't believe it. One has to truly understand the history of how Sprint got to where it is at and understand that what Hesse did does give the shareholders the right to give him that substantial bonus.

This post by Joshua9007 over at Phonearena sums it up best.

WiMax was a FAIL, but given the options they had at the time, they HAD to do it because they had no other choice! When they merged with Nextel (yet another bad choice) they got 2 different bands of spectrum; 800Mhz and 2500Mhz, of which both had strings attached. The 800Mhz had interference issues with public safety (this is the boiled-down way of saying it, I know the technical reasons too) and so they had to endure an 8yr re-banding process that saw them loose some of this spectrum and not be able to launch LTE or voice on the rest until last year. They were compensated with the 1900Mhz PCS G-block spectrum, which sprint launched LTE on, but it doesn't have the propagation characteristics of the lower band spectrum. The 2500Mhz spectrum has even worse propagation characteristics, but is great for urban capacity (where is it most needed anyway) but had build-out requirements that had to be met or the spectrum would go back to the government.... this is where they had to choose WiMax, because LTE was not going to be ready for deployment until after they would loose the spectrum! It was a bad situation that sprint's hands were tied.
To try and take some of the financial strain off sprint because they did not have the resources to complete a full WiMax buildout (smaller propagation = Many extra towers = huge costs) they did a joint venture with a company called Clearwire, where they gave them their 2500Mhz spectrum and money and owned 51% (49% voting), but other investors would also invest and Clearwire would sell service in addition to providing it to sprint. Well, deployment was slow and money dried up, other investors did not want to invest more, so sprint had to keep dumping money in just to keep the lights on.

Dan Hesse has turned things around, but not to the extent that is outwardly visible. He has overseen the shutdown of an aging network infrastructure (Nextel), the complete gut & renovate of all old towers (Network Vision), the purchase of Clearwire so they could properly integrate the towers and spectrum, and the controlling interest of Sprint being purchased by a telecom with much greater financial leverage that will secure their future (merger with T-Mobile or not). That being said, I think that much of his compensation this year had to do with the Softbank transaction, but it is still very high!

I will add that the Sprint Nextel idea was before Hesse. Sprint management at the time was still wanting to merge with another company after the failed Worldcom deal that was shot down by the feds.

As for Keeping the T-Mobile team instead of Sprint, that scares me a bit. They say T-Mobile is the uncarrier, the maverick and Sprint isn't but the fact of the matter is, T-Mobile is giving the store for free and they will eventually feel it in their bottom line with or without Sprint. They cannot sustain these uncarrier moves for long and will eventually will have to strip out some of their recent uncarrier decisions. They will make it look like Sprint Softbank made them undo some of the uncarrier ideas, thus continuing the perception that Sprint sucks, is a bad company, etc etc.

TS out

 

[drexappeal]

Its posts like these that make me go hmmmm.
While it is true that many are comparing Sprints' latest merger decisions like the Sprint-Nextel one in the past, and stating that "history will repeat itself", I don't believe it. One has to truly understand the history of how Sprint got to where it is at and understand that what Hesse did does give the shareholders the right to give him that substantial bonus.

This post by Joshua9007 over at Phonearena sums it up best.
I will add that the Sprint Nextel idea was before Hesse. Sprint management at the time was still wanting to merge with another company after the failed Worldcom deal that was shot down by the feds.

As for Keeping the T-Mobile team instead of Sprint, that scares me a bit. They say T-Mobile is the uncarrier, the maverick and Sprint isn't but the fact of the matter is, T-Mobile is giving the store for free and they will eventually feel it in their bottom line with or without Sprint. They cannot sustain these uncarrier moves for long and will eventually will have to strip out some of their recent uncarrier decisions. They will make it look like Sprint Softbank made them undo some of the uncarrier ideas, thus continuing the perception that Sprint sucks, is a bad company, etc etc.

TS out

Only time will tell, TS. Regardless of which team is running the ship, my reasons behind wanting the T-Mobile team are strictly from a vantage point of which executive team has made moves that helped the network grow. In the short timeframe that Legere has been CEO, he has managed to force ATT and Verizon to take notice and adjust. I'm definitely not a Hesse hater because without him, Sprint would have died and gotten worse. IMO, he saved a sinking ship. That said, in any business merger, assessments have to be made for the most advantageous approach to tweak the business for growth. Just because T-mobile has followed their current model, doesn't mean they will keep everything the same. In the bigger picture, they have to look at what will keep the majority of their current customers happy and what changes they can make to bring more new customers in. No matter what, I see a merged company taking 1 step backward to gain forward momentum. The broader spectrum of coverage will give them better flexibility on how to make the new company truly profitable.

 

[dan330]

we do not know if Tmobile is loosing money. but adding customers ($$ more every month) and taking customers away from other carriers. Helps the bottom line.

so I am assuming TM is doing better than sprint.

Hesse did do good in the past. but he still needs to adjust to current conditions.
in IT industry (and in most).. investors don't care how you did last year or farther.
if you cant make it now.. get out.

 

[drexappeal]

we do not know if Tmobile is loosing money. but adding customers ($$ more every month) and taking customers away from other carriers. Helps the bottom line.

so I am assuming TM is doing better than sprint.

Hesse did do good in the past. but he still needs to adjust to current conditions.
in IT industry (and in most).. investors don't care how you did last year or farther.
if you cant make it now.. get out.

Sprint just turned in their best quarterly profit in 7 years

Sprint turns a modest profit in Q2 2014

Just looking at the overall, I bet it took him 3.5 years to prevent the ship from sinking and another 3.5 to try and get a bigger profit. The mobile industry nowadays moves too fast for it to take another 3.5 years to improve even more and turn in even better net profits.

 

[twospirits]

we do not know if Tmobile is loosing money. but adding customers ($$ more every month) and taking customers away from other carriers. Helps the bottom line.

so I am assuming TM is doing better than sprint.

Hesse did do good in the past. but he still needs to adjust to current conditions.
in IT industry (and in most).. investors don't care how you did last year or farther.
if you cant make it now.. get out.

Like drex said, only time will tell if it hurt their bottom line, but from what I've been seeing on numerous outlets, it will eventually if they continue to give the store away, regardless how many new customers they take in. You still have to maintain a network and improve the outlying areas from 2G to 4G, T-Mobile is doing that but not as fast as some hope it would. Same predicament that some Sprint customers feel when Network Vision was started. As for your last two sentences, everyone needs to adjust to current market conditions and I see that Hesses has done that. The investors, stockholders, board members also realize that, thus the compensation.
I for one wouldn't give a big payout to anyone not doing a good job or someone that just came on board. I usually give out the raise, promotion or bonus to someone that has proven themselves and giving me a Return on Investment.

TS

 

[EarlyMon]

So meanwhile, those pesky test signals at my office have gone away.



I suppose I should hang my head in shame given that so many others brag above 50 and cry about anything below 35.

Or, I could instead notice that this is far above Blu-ray bit rates - on a freaking phone ok - and maybe just enjoy Pee Wee's Big Adventure here on my lunch break.

What to do, what to do, what to do.

Buy into the idea that that meter reflects my trouser size or see about that big but?

I think I gotta go with the Big Adventure.

 

[twospirits]

I actually see and stream pee wee's Big Adventure in high definition with no signal loss or stuttering with the signal I get here in the city.

 

[dan330]

Like drex said, only time will tell if it hurt their bottom line, but from what I've been seeing on numerous outlets, it will eventually if they continue to give the store away, regardless how many new customers they take in. You still have to maintain a network and improve the outlying areas from 2G to 4G, T-Mobile is doing that but not as fast as some hope it would. Same predicament that some Sprint customers feel when Network Vision was started. As for your last two sentences, everyone needs to adjust to current market conditions and I see that Hesses has done that. The investors, stockholders, board members also realize that, thus the compensation.
I for one wouldn't give a big payout to anyone not doing a good job or someone that just came on board. I usually give out the raise, promotion or bonus to someone that has proven themselves and giving me a Return on Investment.

TS

I wonder if the influx of funds from Softbank was some how used to inflat the numbers.. funny/fudgy accounting. they been hemorrhaging clients for years and sinking money into stuff... interesting to see they have a profit.

cost of network and upkeep.. is mostly a fix cost.
adding paying clients is a growing variable.
more clients past the cost is mostly profit. so adding clients is a very good thing.

how often do we hear in the news..
as the company is sinking..
the ivory tower gets bonuses?


hey guys.. I want sprint to succeed. my sis works there. and competition is good.
I was a client for over 10 years.. but I just cant swallow their BS excuses any more.

 

[EarlyMon]

I wonder if the influx of funds from Softbank was some how used to inflat the numbers.. funny/fudgy accounting. they been hemorrhaging clients for years and sinking money into stuff... interesting to see they have a profit.

cost of network and upkeep.. is mostly a fix cost.
adding paying clients is a growing variable.
more clients past the cost is mostly profit. so adding clients is a very good thing.

how often do we hear in the news..
as the company is sinking..
the ivory tower gets bonuses?


hey guys.. I want sprint to succeed. my sis works there. and competition is good.
I was a client for over 10 years.. but I just cant swallow their BS excuses any more.

And if I replace Sprint with HTC or Motorola in that quote, I get the same result -

Exactly the same result.

And yet, despite the homespun, down-home knowledge of the blogosphere for the last few years - HTC and Motorola are still with us, and more than than just alive and kicking.

What is your real question?

That if only we understood Sprint as you do that we'd agree with you?

Give up. Give up now.

It's simply true - many people can look at the same facts and come to different conclusions.

You may want others to see it your way, and you may want Sprint to succeed because your sister works there.

But the reality is that your logic is just not as universal and unassailable as you think, no matter how much you're convinced to the contrary.

It's not that we don't get it.

It's that this is the Network Vision and LTE rollout thread and as a former Spirit customer, you represent no dog in this fight.

I'm glad that you've found a better carrier that works for you.

I really am.

But the rest of us are just not going to acquiesce to your choice, no matter how great it was.

And that does not mean that any of us are deficient or under-informed.

Good luck to your sister, I'll be sure to think of her when I pay next month's bill.

 

[drexappeal]

On an even lighter note, I called into Tech support because my SMS messages have been hanging lately and sending almost 12 hours late. Apparently, a good majority of LA is going through some sort of update on all the towers, according to their log, as of the end of last week. Crossing my fingers I notice significant differences, if they're working on majority of the towers right now.

 

[dan330]

fyi....

Sprint names Brightstar founder Marcelo Claure new CEO

 

[smitty543]

I have working LTE signal, but 0-2 bars voice signal. Is this what is to be expected since appears that the emphasis and hype seems to concern data connectivity. (Phones are still used as important voice communication modality.)

 

[EarlyMon]

Bars and voice quality don't apply to CDMA. GSM, yes, CDMA, no.

 

[smitty543]

Within our community, I sometimes have LTE signal in multiple locations and on other days NO signal in the same locations:confused! Is this the new Sprint? Any ideas as to what may be going on?

 

[mak916]

That just means they are testing iit.

 

[marctronixx]

Within our community, I sometimes have LTE signal in multiple locations and on other days NO signal in the same locations:confused! Is this the new Sprint? Any ideas as to what may be going on?

Have you contacted sprint directly? This isn't a sprint help desk and they don't monitor this forum. Rather than read speculation, its recommended to post in their moderated forums, call *2, and/or tweet them when it comes to issues with coverage and/or account/billing concerns.