The Sprint brand is damaged

[Rawvega]

Rebrand as SoftBank.

 

Problem solved.

 

I think that could cause more problems than it solves.

[WiWavelength]

Rebrand as SoftBank.

 

Problem solved.

 

Yeah, that would be a solution if SoftBank were not such a stupid name.

 

AJ

[peteyz24]

Yeah, that would be a solution if SoftBank were not such a stupid name.

 

AJ

 

First time I heard it I thought they were either a software company or a financial firm of some type.

[lordsutch]

I'm sure SoftBank sounds awesome in Japanese (remember, in Asia, they often use English for the sound value rather than the meaning of the underlying words). They could do what Deutsche Telekom did and use something like "SB Mobile." Or, somewhat out of left field, they could use some variation of Clear, like "Clear Mobile."

 

That said I think Sprint has a decent name; it goes well with their major sponsorships, like the NASCAR Sprint Cup. It just needs to be positioned a bit more upmarket, maybe with a branding refresh (swap out the font for something a bit more "serious" like Helvetica Condensed and come up with some new logo swoosh since nobody remembers the pin-drop). And with T-Mobile (+ metroPCS) edging downmarket, that may not be as hard to do as we might think.

[WiWavelength]

Did someone say Soft-uh-Bank?

 

AJ

[bigsnake49]

Did someone say Soft-uh-Bank?

 

AJ

 

Or Splint?

[peteyz24]

Or Splint?

 

So clear you can hear a bone snap.

[PDXmike]

So clear you can hear a bone snap.

 

SoftSnap?

[ockoerner]

Talking to people on other carriers, and even after explaining to them about network vision, people truly believe that Sprint will always be inferior to the duopoly. Most of my family/friends/acquaintances have Verizon and you could basically say they laugh at the fact of switching to a different carrier, especially if it were to Sprint. Most of my coworkers are on at&t, and some complain about dropped calls, yet they won't try someone else. People act like choosing someone other than one of the duopolys is the difference between life and death. Anyway, the point that i'm trying to make is that Sprint needs to do a better job of informing the stubborn Verizon customers that their network isn't as great as they say it is. I will admit, they have a wonderful 1xEVDO network but from even personal experience, their lte is lacking. I see speeds of around 5mbps in the middle of the day even right next to an lte tower. On 700mhz you would think penetration would be great but it really isn't. Even At&t's lte stays connected much better indoors. To think people with Verizon think they are on a superior lte network, is quite scary. The big companies have them locked in paying premium for what they believe is true, when in reality it isn't. And people are too stobborn to believe their are better options out there. Just my two cents I guess.

 

I'm one of those persons who HATED Sprint. I was on Verizon and am on Sprint cause my company took over my bill for me "free phone can't say no". So this happens on the launch of the iPhone 5 and let me tell you I HATED HATE HATED SPrint. I would call and bitch and tell my company what the hell was I thinking. Since then my faith in Sprint has changed. It's 100% better here in Orange County CA with the 3G NV upgrade and continues to get better. If Sprint truly upgrades EVERY tower they say will be upgraded and everything is all one giant network "isnt that a first?" I believe Sprint will be #2 over taking AT&T. Hey even Sprints customer service has gotten better. Hey Sprint keep you word and you will have more believers like me.

[lilotimz]

Sprint will not be #2. Not this year. Not next year. Not the year after. Does sprint have the opportunity, backing, and network to damage ATT and Verizon by offering a nation wide LTE network that doesn't bend the consumer over? Yep. Will millions upon millions of ATT or Verizon subscribers pay an ETF to leave for sprint in 2014? No. They will take notice and keep the option open and tentatively test out the network to see if sprints network is not utter crap thanks to forsee & crews incompetence.

[mellimel2212]

I don't c 10 million people leavin but I do c people leavin to come here. I've seen it first hand here in Chicago in the sprint store I go to I c different people daily switching from other companies do to lte being here.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[digiblur]

Can u c ur keybrd on ur fon?

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[centermedic]

Sprint will not be #2. Not this year. Not next year. Not the year after. Does sprint have the opportunity, backing, and network to damage ATT and Verizon by offering a nation wide LTE network that doesn't bend the consumer over? Yep. Will millions upon millions of ATT or Verizon subscribers pay an ETF to leave for sprint in 2014? No. They will take notice and keep the option open and tentatively test out the network to see if sprints network is not utter crap thanks to forsee & crews incompetence.

I agree to an extent. I think Sprint is putting themselves in a good position to slide into the number 2 slot in 5-7 years. Of course a lot can change but you gotta be in it to win it and I think they are positioning themselves very nicely.

[MagnusOchncap]

I get the impression from friends and clients that Sprint is the only tier 1 discount carrier. Obviously Oregon (and the Willamette Valley specifically) is a microcosm compared to the national consciousness, but I continue to see lots of people here move from T-mobile to Sprint (and from AT&T to Verizon).

 

And I rarely hear about bad Sprint stories around the Portland-metro. Just their slow speeds, and the not-good-at-all WiMax Clear partnership.

 

However, I do agree their customer service has been hit-or-miss. Picked up a Palm Pre on launch day, and lived through six months with it (ugh). Had a great experience closing the account and transferring the number out, getting out of the ETF too. Then six months after that got hit up for $99 to compensate Sprint for a non-existing Airave unit they claimed I received. Took weeks to resolve that, but a CSR manager eventually apologized. -_-