Sprint removable SIM likelihood

[Bob Newhart]

SERO a loop hole? It was a marketing strategy.

[digiblur]

They should just fire all the retention specialist then. I was canceling to go to another provider. It's not all about coverage to me, it is all about costs as well. It's all about value for me. The Sprint rep told me about SERO and switched me over if I would stay. The savings offset the poor network here.

 

Anytime I mention I have Sprint to anyone they usually laugh and say their coverage sucks. I tell them my bill and they usually say oh I can see how that makes up for it a bit.

 

So the pricing that Sprint has offered to me is a direct correlation to the network here. The retention guy even agreed that the network was subpar here when he asked for a few addresses of locations I visited. He told me it was my discount for dealing with it until Sprint fixed it.

 

There is a reason why you see absolutely zero Sprint phones on the street here even with the decent pricing and unlimited data.

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

 

[WiWavelength]

SERO a loop hole? It was a marketing strategy.

 

Really? A marketing strategy? Where were the SERO commercials? Did I miss them?

 

Give me a freaking break. Sprint Employee Referral Offer. The name says it all. It was intended for friends and family of Sprint employees.

 

But it became a causes célèbres on Howard Forums, etc., and attracted cheapskates who always want a deal -- by hook or by crook -- and those who feel that Sprint "owes" them because of some perceived slight.

 

AJ

[xcharles718]

There is also the possibility of SIM-swapping between Sprint-proper devices and the SPG(Boost & Virgin) LTE devices that will be released in the new year. Doesn't do much for Sprint, but it would be nice for me

[WiWavelength]

They should just fire all the retention specialist then.

 

Agreed. With the SoftBank investment, Sprint needs to get a backbone and kick some subs to the curb.

 

There is a reason why you see absolutely zero Sprint phones on the street here even with the decent pricing and unlimited data.

 

I see. So, Sprint should offer subs differential pricing? Great! I use 10 minutes of voice airtime per month and under 1 GB of data. Where is my discount/credit for not taxing the network?

 

The saying goes, "the squeaky wheel gets the greasing." Is that how it always should be? Or just maybe, the squeaky wheel should buck up and find another carrier.

 

AJ

[Bob Newhart]

Really? A marketing strategy? Where were the SERO commercials? Did I miss them?

 

All the required information to get the sero plan was on Sprint's own website, searchable by google.

 

The discount now for people that use an iphone/android phone isn't very much anymore, probably the same as a family plan with a company discount.

Sprint knows that if they kick all the sero users off, that they'll most likely leave to another lower cost carrier.

[digiblur]

That's if you can tax the network

 

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Sprint knows that if they kick all the sero users off, that they'll most likely leave to another lower cost carrier.

 

It is a cliché, but do not let the door hit you in the ass on the way out...

 

AJ

[digiblur]

 

All the required information to get the sero plan was on Sprint's own website, searchable by google.

 

Sprint knows that if they kick all the sero users off, that they'll most likely leave to another lower cost carrier.

 

Many employees told me about it in the stores, and like I said the retention specialist did as well.

 

Wouldn't say lower cost, I would say better value.

 

Their pricing and such is nothing for anyone to get upset with. If they don't like their practices then maybe it's time to move to a company they like. It's all their own doing. Just like when they send me a letter for roaming too much. I didn't leave town and go to BFE. I stayed in the city all month. It's their choice to have huge holes in the network and chose to not finish the synergy project in that hole in the city. All you can do is laugh when you look at your phone roaming then look out the window at the nextel tower across the street. Did they want to cancel my line when I called? Nope. The lady actually apologized, gave me a $50 credit for the inconvenience and opened a ticket on the tower for that area.

 

Even my cable company does this to keep people. They sent me a letter to lock me into 2yr contract for a free speed upgrade. I already had 20 meg and didnt need 30. So I called them anyways to see if they could do something else like faster uploads instead. They didn't have anything except for the normal speed tiers for uploads but the lady explained she could still do something. They downgraded me, locked me in at a price $15 less a month, and gave me a free upgrade back to 20 meg.

 

When I recently attempted to open a ticket for channel 100 evdo not working downtown the network guys told me to contact first level. It would have been simple, open the ticket and move on. So I do as they explained and call them. After an hour or so I end up with a ticket and a credit for my inconvenience. I didn't ask for it nor did I even want to call them in the first place. And I will probably have to call them again as it is still broken. Tired of a failed data session and the phone burning a hole in the battery flipping back and forth between the two evdo carriers trying to handshake on the broken one and the working one telling my phone to go to the broken one.

 

Hopefully network vision will get them out of this rut of having to give credits and discounts all the time. But I will admit I am never the one to pass up a deal of price matching a bunch of items at Walmart then stacking a coupon on top of that to end up with 50 cent pound of coffee. Just the way I was raised to always look for the best deal and not throw money out the window.

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

 

[CriticalityEvent]

 

 

Sprint knows that if they kick all the sero users off, that they'll most likely leave to another lower cost carrier.

 

It is a cliché, but do not let the door hit you in the ass on the way out...

 

AJ

 

I've had an interesting experience with SERO. My brother was with iPCS and was able to get me on the SERO plan back in 2007. This was great for me as a college student because I could keep on top of my e-mail and manage my schedule from my smartphone while paying a bill that I could afford (given that comparable plans were running at least $90-$120/month back then).

 

In 2010, I got my first "real" job. The EVO had just come out, and I decided it was with losing SERO over. I was completely prepared to pay the full price for service when I was made aware of the 17% discount Baxter gave their employees. I called to have it applied after a few months of full-price service, but the agent said she would just re-apply my SERO discount because it would be easier.

 

Earlier this year, I picked up the EVO LTE, again expecting to lose my SERO discount, but it stayed on the plan. Do I enjoy SERO? Absolutely, but even without it, I would totally stay with Sprint like I was prepared to do twice. My only justification for its existence would be for students who could use the phone for legitimate school work, like I did. Back in 2006/7, smartphones were more of a luxury item, so I was a bit lucky. Now, they are becoming a standard. Just like how Microsoft sells software at a discounted price to students, hopefully that will provide enough incentive to ensure their continued customer loyalty when they can afford to pay for it at full price. I know it worked for me...

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[irev210]

I will stand up and applaud the day that Sprint terminates SERO plans or requires them to be converted to current subscriber plans. That Sprint seemingly looks the other way while some cheat the system through a loophole is one of the most distasteful things about Sprint. I hope that Sprint's improving position will soon give it the strength to tell the SERO crowd to get fully on board or go elsewhere.

 

AJ

 

Interesting thought.

 

Sprint essentially opened up SERO to anyone and everyone. Call it whatever you want, even today, the current SERO program is advertised by the famous russ mcguire. I don't really call that a loophole. It's like saying the semi-hidden t-mobile prepaid 30/month plan is a "loophole" because it isn't a standard plan offering.

 

Sprint, at any time, could have terminated or restricted the SERO program but they decided to change it instead. The true "SERO" program is a much better deal and it was one that was never open to the public to take advantage of.

 

The real sprint employee friend plan is called the "wireless advantage club".

http://www.sprint.com/landings/advantage_club/?ECID=vanity:advantageclub

 

 

You also seem to forget that sprint has almost doubled the price of the original SERO plan. What started off as 30/month has now been increased to 50/month.

 

I find it surprising you just want sprint to churn loyal customers. From a financial perspective, you are somewhat off the mark. Today's SERO plans are only marginally (~8/month) cheaper than other discounted plans that are available to everyone (with no loopholes).

 

Just like Verzion, Sprint has bean counters. When it becomes more profitable to churn customers that will leave as a result of increased prices, sprint will do so.

 

Until then, it seems like a silly thing to be upset at sprint for. They are trying to max out value from their subscribers. Asking them to lose money just seems pretty far out there to me.

[irev210]

It is a cliché, but do not let the door hit you in the ass on the way out...

 

AJ

 

I don't get why you have such distaste for people who pay less than the current advertised rate.

 

The value of a customer isn't what they pay every month. I've mentioned this a bunch of times, but it's the lifetime value of the customer.

 

Take the average length of a customer (based on churn), take the customer revenue over that period, take the customer expenses over that period, and that's your lifetime value to sprint.

 

I am sure that Sprint has calculated what the cumulative value for all SERO customers are and have priced out the value of that customer class.

 

If churn is lower for SERO but yet they charge less, that means that SERO customers would be more profitable than other regular paying customers.

 

Yet, you think they should leave?

 

What is more realistic is that sprint will indirectly increase prices on SERO customers (say no more upgrades, or a 36 month upgrade cycle) or something like that. Think about what Verizon did to "encourage" legacy unlimited customers to move to shared data plans by removing upgrade perks.

 

No doubt Verizon experienced churn as a result, but for them it was worth it. Sprint likely got a good chunk of that with their heavy reminder that they still have unlimited. It's probably one of the reasons why sprint has been having more port-ins than port-outs.

 

 

I think everyone on here wants Sprint to succeed. Terminating customers is not the way to do it - regardless of how you feel about them. Incrementally increase rates until they are in line with other profitable customer classes. Let the least tolerant churn out, keep the rest. That's the way to do it.

[halcyoncmdr]

AJ has theorized that removable SIM's will come about with Sprint after the sunsetting of the Nextel iDEN network. iDEN devices use SIM cards.

 

Robert

 

This is my semi-educated guess. From what I remember long ago when Sprint first was talking about NV updates, LTE deployment and the shutdown of iDEN, external LTE SIM/UICC cards were planned. At the moment embedded chips suffice for network usage, and knowing the average person thinks they can simply swap SIM cards around without any negative issues (there are several in reality) people likely would be putting incorrect SIM cards in phones. It already happens with custoemrs putting their old iDEN SIMs in Sprint worldphones thinking that will make them work.

 

Cole's Axiom... "The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing."

[halcyoncmdr]

That as well, as an addendum to my previous post. The automated swap tool does not support Sprint plans outside of "advertised" ones. It comes up with the plan change screen if, as I mentioned, you switch from (for example) 4G WiMAX to 4G LTE. Or if it freaks out over SERO, etc.

 

The plan swap screen comes up because backend codes require being swapped for the device to function correctly. 4G WiMax and 4G LTE codes on the backend are in no way related. The actual "plan" you are on means very little to be billing system. A basic voice only "plan" has about 8 different backend codes to make it function. Things like voicemail,etc. all have different codes according to which voicemail server the phone needs to route to. For example, the basic voicemail server for flip phones is different from the old Android servers, the newer Visual Voicemail servers add even more complexity, and the iPhone's have their own setup. Each of these require different network SOC codes to route correctly, so depending on which phones you are swapping from/to the automated system may not be able to handle the number of code changes, or the specific codes required for it. If you have obscure plans like SERO or Everything Plus you are much better off just calling in. Some may like to view it as, in exchange for the discounted plan, you are more prone to weird issues with automated systems not working right, or at all. IF you are on a current regular plan, these issues don't usually occur. Grandfathered doesn't mean still supported.

[ericdabbs]

I will stand up and applaud the day that Sprint terminates SERO plans or requires them to be converted to current subscriber plans. That Sprint seemingly looks the other way while some cheat the system through a loophole is one of the most distasteful things about Sprint. I hope that Sprint's improving position will soon give it the strength to tell the SERO crowd to get fully on board or go elsewhere.

 

AJ

 

I too do not understand your distaste for SERO users as if they are some how scoundrels who have cheated the Sprint system. From my personal experience, Sprint SERO was the single reason why I gave Sprint a chance for cell phone service in the first place due to the very nice value that it presented. I know I am not the only one and I am sure if you took a poll back in 2007 if people would even try Sprint, most would say no due to the horrible service it provided back then. The slickdeals thread about SERO blew up and had many people interested in Sprint service due to being able to get a smartphone and voice/data service for $30. Even if Sprint didn't market the cell phone plan as a traditional plan, nevertheless it was a successful program. Sprint even realized how popular it was and finally put and end to it in Aug 2008. Again Sprint could have forced people to switch over to regular plan at any time but realized how loyal SERO customers. Some people to this day still using the HTC Touch Pro 2 to hang on to the $30 SERO plan to avoid upgrading to SERO Premium. It wasn't until Sept 2010 that Sprint offered the SERO Premium program that allowed SERO customers to purchase and use high end smartphones on the Sprint network. SERO Premium actually increased the ARPU of those SERO customers by 66% (from $30 to $50) which is HUGE increase so it helped them financially.

 

Back in 2007, Sprint was struggling badly and was losing customers hand over fist. If it wasn't for SERO, Sprint would have been in a much worser shape than it currently was. I know many of us have stuck with Sprint through these tough times because of what the SERO plan provided. As irev210 has stated above, SERO customers probably provide less churn than other customers do and in the long run provide more profit for Sprint than normal Everything Data postpaid customers who are even more tempted to leave because paying $85/month for 100 Kbps 3G speeds is unacceptable.

 

Also please spare me if you think that SERO customers are the single reason why the Sprint network is in its current horrible shape or why they got into financial trouble. I highly doubt SERO customers today present a dent to the overall number of Sprint customers and certainly is not harming Sprint financially. Also FYI, the SERO Premium plan does not allow employee discounts on it so you are not double dipping...sorry to disappoint you. I have no idea where you came up with the conclusion that the issues with Sprint were related to SERO customers.

 

I am a happy 5.5 year Sprint SERO Premium customer and have no plans to give up SERO and leave the Sprint network.

[xcharles718]

How does killing SERO help Sprint? The only possible upside is that they can collect more revenue per customer. However, how many of those SERO customers(in which Sprint will have to void their contracts) will actually stay?

[S4GRU]

How does killing SERO help Sprint? The only possible upside is that they can collect more revenue per customer. However, how many of those SERO customers(in which Sprint will have to void their contracts) will actually stay?

 

Post Network Vision? Most.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[xcharles718]

Staying on topic, maybe SIMs would be available with the tri-band LTE devices that could be arriving later this year(it's after midnight of the east coast). Any word on those 800MHz LTE FITs?

[digiblur]

I know two people milking their HTC Moguls 5 years later! Crazy!

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

 

[ericdabbs]

I know two people milking their HTC Moguls 5 years later! Crazy!

 

-- "Sensorly or it didn't happen!"

 

Wow the HTC Mogul!!!! I wouldn't have thought the HTC moguls could last this long. That is very impressive indeed.

[dmchssc]

I wish there would be regulations that require all new FCC-approved handsets to have SIM-only authentication and CDMA2000, GSM, and UMTS support on the CEL and PCS bands. Since ESMR and CEL are adjacent to one another, maybe there should be mandatory ESMR support too, if it isn't too costly. This, in addition to a ban on locked devices and locked networks, would be very beneficial to consumers. Phone resale values would increase, it would be easier to switch carriers, and the subsidy-contract model would take a serious hit.

[xcharles718]

Wow the HTC Mogul!!!! I wouldn't have thought the HTC moguls could last this long. That is very impressive indeed.

The Mogul is one tough cookie. Unfortunately, I lost mind to water damage

[bigsnake49]

The Mogul is one tough cookie. Unfortunately, I lost mind to water damage

 

Your mind got waterlogged?

[kg4icg]

Watch out for what you wish for. Here is something to think about? How many VZW customers had to have replacement SIM's sent to them because they are malfunctioning? You see loads of threads on other forums about it.

[halcyoncmdr]

Watch out for what you wish for. Here is something to think about? How many VZW customers had to have replacement SIM's sent to them because they are malfunctioning? You see loads of threads on other forums about it.

 

How often is that an issue with the SIM simply being dirty and not bad? We see it fairly often in my S&R location with iPhone's coming in with "No SIM" errors. We take the card out, clean the contacts with some denatured alcohol, pop it back in, and voila! it works. I'm 99% certain that many retail reps don't bother to take the time to triage issues, and those in S&R locations are at an advantage in that regard with the techs. Even then though I know from experience in the IT side of businesses (Not just Sprint), many that work in IT have no place being there, the vast majority have the credentials and such, but many do not have any simple common sense. Others don't even have the credentials or the will to learn and are a lost cause.