Interesting stuff. It seems like Sprint is the perpetual moving target. Hopefully Softbank will bring about some stability.
Well like one of the commenters said about the article, "spectrum is wireless gold". Sprint needs as much Spectrum it can get it's hands on to compete with At&t and Verizon and Clearwire has it. It's not compatible with the current crop of LTE phones on Sprint but if they can work with Clearwire and convert it into a fully functional LTE network that they can roll into their current LTE network then it's a pretty significant move. This may not happen for some time but with the money from Softbank, the Clearwire deal and even the spectrum they acquired from the U.S. Cellular deal it's looking pretty good. Hopefully they won't find a way to screw this all up. Because it's game over if they do.
Yeah they still have jump through all the regulatory hoops in order to get this all approved. So probably the middle of next year sometime. Hopefully Sprint/Softbank are already working on a gameplan so they can get out of gates fast. Next year will be an interesting year for Sprint.
I'm confused. I thought Sprint was in the process of finalizing its deal to buy the rest of Clearwire. Why is it that the Phandroid article mentions "soon-to-be-Dish owned" FCC filings show Google could be working with Clearwire on an experimental LTE network
Who knows what is really going on. Sprint was finalizing the deal when Dish offered Clearwire more per share, which their board decided to consider.
Yeah but Sprint/Softbank has 51% of controlling interest in Clearwire. So they have final say over the deal. Unless Dish dumps a truck full of cash in front of Sprint headquarters I don't see them going for the deal. Clearwire has more spectrum than both At&t and Verizon and Sprint needs that Spectrum if they're ever going to compete with the big boys.
Anyone here have CLEARWIRE as their ISP? My area is blanketed w/their 4G service & was looking for some user experiences w/it.Of course,everyones' mileage will vary depending on location,traffic,etc......... THX!
I used to have clear wire as my isp and is absolutely HORRIBLE!!!! They lied about us being in the service area and the speeds are nowhere near what wimax is supposed to be. We switched to comcast and ditched that bad service and got comcast for around the same price. If you don't believe me, look up "clearwire rants" and "clearwire sucks" YouTube and you will find frustrated ex customers and current customers explain how dreadful their service is.
THX! I decided to go with TIME WARNER, for the same price as CLEARWIRE, but, 3X the speed. I thought I needed the hotspot flexibility of CLEARWIRE, but, that turned out to not be the case, as most places I frequent have WI-FI when I need it. Turns out I'm not using as much mobile data away from home as I thought either. Less than 1GB/mo., so, that's opening up the possibility of switching mobile providers in the near future if SPRINT doesn't arrive @ the 4G LTE party soon. Everyone else, has 4G (LTE) in my area, except SPRINT.
I'm going through the same decision making process. I would like to be able to do more with my Internet connection at home but I would also like 4G speeds at home. Heck, I'd even settle for good 3G speeds at this point. So, yes, I'm still here reading but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on. I really do hope Sprint gets it together. I'm tired of feeling like I'm in an abusive relationship where my partner "promises that things will get better" and they don't. It's just more of the same...
I like your viewpoint but hang in there. What keeps me hanging on is knowing I have the best value with Sprint!
I'm starting to second guess my decision to stick with sprint. Its not the best value if data speeds suck. My market is going to take for ever to get upgraded to 4g unless something changes soon. I have a year to make up my mind though. Maybe everybody will bail from sprint and when we eventually get 4g it will be good for a long time if they stay in business.
Saw this on Android Central this morning. Frankly as a former DISH customer I'm not exactly thrilled with this. DISH Network gives Sprint a $25.5 billion offer | Android Central
Beat me to it. I wonder what the effect will be on Virgin Mobile and the other virtual carriers who use the Sprint network.
It looks like Sprint is getting a better deal with Dish, but like you I'm a former Dish customer, I don't see this being a good move for Sprint in the long run.
I hope the proposed deal with Dish does NOT go through....we do not need Charlie and his crazy ways. I hope SoftBank ups their deal slightly and Sprint sticks with them.
That's the problem....money talks. Dish is setting up their deal to be more appealing to those making the decisions for the short term.
CEO's who can make big acquisitions get big bonuses and even more so if the deals pan out to become profitable. Lets face it none of this is about customers anymore it's all about money. I wish Sprint could truly create an solid alternative to AT&T/Verizon but round here everything about Sprint still sucks. Dish actually sucks more then Sprint so this would be a match made in hell for customers. Sometimes bundles can be great but not when a company is dishing out billions to provide such a bundle and has to make it up elsewhere.
