Softbank - New Sprint - Discussion

[S4GRU]

I don't see how Softbank will lower prices at Sprint and invest in the network unless they infuse them with more money or drastically alter the cost structure at Sprint.

I think they're prepared to invest more if needed. They are saying it will come out of operational expenses now. But they will spend the money no matter what.

 

Some have speculated that Sprint may refinance existing debt with Japanese capital. This may really reduce their debt burden freeing a lot of money that would have made debt payments. Also, Sprint may also sell new debt on Japanese capital markets. Lots of possibilities. But I believe Masayoshi will spend the money. He knows that the network is key in taking on the duopoly. I don't believe he is going to half ass this.

 

Robert from Note 2 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[bigsnake49]

My sources at Sprint told me a while ago that Softbank was going to go after T-Mobile as well. They have been tightlipped lately. Has the 50% increase in T-Mobile's stock price scare them off? Did the FCC throw cold water on the merger idea? I mean, Masayoshi was really gung ho about that idea. Not to mention the fact that DT wants to sell.

Edited July 19, 2013 by bigsnake49

[jroepcke51]

i don't think a merger between New Sprint and Tmo would happen. THat does not bode well for competition.

[bigsnake49]

i don't think a merger between New Sprint and Tmo would happen. THat does not bode well for competition.

 

A run to the bottom between Sprint and T-Mobile or competition to the big two? If you're talking about competition to the big two, only somebody their own size can possibly compete. As far as competition between the two, it will just leave both of them bloodied and bruised while the big two will be smirking and eating popcorn on the sidelines. I don't think DT has the stomach for a knockout, dragout fight. Either Dish or Sprint will merge/acquire them.

Edited July 19, 2013 by bigsnake49

[ericdabbs]

I really don't think its going to matter what the price cuts are coming to Sprint if the folks looking to switch don't have Network Vision and LTE in their area.  The key is upgrading the network ASAP and Sprint will have more folks switching over.  

[JeffDTD]

I honestly believe the pricing is competitely adequate.. but traction could be gained by focusing on the "relationship" with the customer in a similar vein to what the premier program accomplished. Create percs (upgrade, fee waivers, free hotspot access for customers at certain brackets) and then beat the media drum wildly about sprint loving its customers and rewarding them. Premier created a great deal of positive buzz for sprint in a time when the network was at its lowest point with nothing but wimax to save it

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

 

[bigsnake49]

I honestly believe the pricing is competitely adequate.. but traction could be gained by focusing on the "relationship" with the customer in a similar vein to what the premier program accomplished. Create percs (upgrade, fee waivers, free hotspot access for customers at certain brackets) and then beat the media drum wildly about sprint loving its customers and rewarding them. Premier created a great deal of positive buzz for sprint in a time when the network was at its lowest point with nothing but wimax to save it

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

For me it's finish NV 1.0 with 800MHz 1x and LTE. As in now! Then you can play around with your pricing. But get your network finished Sprint!

[ericdabbs]

I honestly believe the pricing is competitely adequate.. but traction could be gained by focusing on the "relationship" with the customer in a similar vein to what the premier program accomplished. Create percs (upgrade, fee waivers, free hotspot access for customers at certain brackets) and then beat the media drum wildly about sprint loving its customers and rewarding them. Premier created a great deal of positive buzz for sprint in a time when the network was at its lowest point with nothing but wimax to save it

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

Sprint should bring back the Premier program for 10+ year customers.

[ericdabbs]

For me it's finish NV 1.0 with 800MHz 1x and LTE. As in now! Then you can play around with your pricing. But get your network finished Sprint!

 

Exactly I don't think the Sprint pricing needs to be adjusted.  The reason Sprint is not attracting customers or customers leaving in droves is because the Network Vision project is way behind schedule.  This lack of backhaul on a ton of NV ready sites is driving me nuts.  Phoenix and Tucson are perfect examples as to why they have zero LTE sites at this point.

[newgroundsguru]

Exactly I don't think the Sprint pricing needs to be adjusted.  The reason Sprint is not attracting customers or customers leaving in droves is because the Network Vision project is way behind schedule.  This lack of backhaul on a ton of NV ready sites is driving me nuts.  Phoenix and Tucson are perfect examples as to why they have zero LTE sites at this point.

This right here.

 

Think about it, if they lower the pricing more people will get on the network.. the network that can barley preform. They would see how poor it is then ditch the service never to return. But if they actually try and get their damn network fixed THEN drop the price to get more subs they would probably stay..

[koiulpoi]

For me it's finish NV 1.0 with 800MHz 1x and LTE. As in now! Then you can play around with your pricing. But get your network finished Sprint!

 

 

Exactly I don't think the Sprint pricing needs to be adjusted.  The reason Sprint is not attracting customers or customers leaving in droves is because the Network Vision project is way behind schedule.  This lack of backhaul on a ton of NV ready sites is driving me nuts.  Phoenix and Tucson are perfect examples as to why they have zero LTE sites at this point.

 

Um, you know, Sprint is investing untold amounts of capital into its network, doing something no other carrier has done, and doing it faster. They're going at breakneck speeds. Are you following the acceptance reports at all? While you might not have LTE at your location, work is happening everywhere, as fast as possible. Sprint isn't waiting around on this. They're hiring as many contractors as they can. I really don't think, despite what you guys are saying Sprint "needs" to do, for them to go any faster. They're already in the situation they're in, and doing their best to get out of it. 

 

Really, what could be done? It's not like they're going "nah, these sites don't need backhaul yet. Wait on it, screw the rules consumer, we have money!". They're accepting sites as soon as they're finished. 

 

And, frankly, I don't think NV being behind is what's stopping your average customer from switching to Sprint. Your average consumer has no idea what "Four Gee Lite" is. They don't know about this and that network and megahertz and whatnots. They just know that Sprint's those yellow people who keep yelling about unlimited. Getting a real marketing campaign going is what's going to attract customers, not a network. The network attracts technically-minded power users, but the ads and the public perception are what bring people over.

And - Sprint's latest churn numbers only look bad because of the iDEN shutdown and lack of Nextel recaptures. So, yeah. Those low-ARPU customers were pretty much write-offs anyways.

[centermedic]

A run to the bottom between Sprint and T-Mobile or competition to the big two? If you're talking about competition to the big two, only somebody their own size can possibly compete. As far as competition between the two, it will just leave both of them bloodied and bruised while the big two will be smirking and eating popcorn on the sidelines. I don't think DT has the stomach for a knockout, dragout fight. Either Dish or Sprint will merge/acquire them.

I disagree 100%. In my opinion Softbank willnot allow Sprint to furthur damage its image. In other words they will tightly control their growth until they are comfortable with the quality of the network. Thats when we will see better plans with more competitive pricing. I think Son is planning on confronting T-Mobile with value and AT&T/Verizon with network quality. This is not a stretch. Sprint compares favorably with T-mobile and AT&T with the exception of network speed. Verizons ability to absorb more customers is questionable at this point. Alot depends on what spectrum they aquire and how they deploy it. Bottom line fix the speeds and prices and Sprint will be succesful.

[centermedic]

Um, you know, Sprint is investing untold amounts of capital into its network, doing something no other carrier has done, and doing it faster. They're going at breakneck speeds. Are you following the acceptance reports at all? While you might not have LTE at your location, work is happening everywhere, as fast as possible. Sprint isn't waiting around on this. They're hiring as many contractors as they can. I really don't think, despite what you guys are saying Sprint "needs" to do, for them to go any faster. They're already in the situation they're in, and doing their best to get out of it. 

 

Really, what could be done? It's not like they're going "nah, these sites don't need backhaul yet. Wait on it, screw the rules consumer, we have money!". They're accepting sites as soon as they're finished. 

 

And, frankly, I don't think NV being behind is what's stopping your average customer from switching to Sprint. Your average consumer has no idea what "Four Gee Lite" is. They don't know about this and that network and megahertz and whatnots. They just know that Sprint's those yellow people who keep yelling about unlimited. Getting a real marketing campaign going is what's going to attract customers, not a network. The network attracts technically-minded power users, but the ads and the public perception are what bring people over.

And - Sprint's latest churn numbers only look bad because of the iDEN shutdown and lack of Nextel recaptures. So, yeah. Those low-ARPU customers were pretty much write-offs anyways.

I agree but perception is everything and the average customer percives the "slow NV rollout as the same old Sprint. Take a gander at Pocketables/good and evo as an example. 

[bigsnake49]

Um, you know, Sprint is investing untold amounts of capital into its network, doing something no other carrier has done, and doing it faster. They're going at breakneck speeds. Are you following the acceptance reports at all? While you might not have LTE at your location, work is happening everywhere, as fast as possible. Sprint isn't waiting around on this. They're hiring as many contractors as they can. I really don't think, despite what you guys are saying Sprint "needs" to do, for them to go any faster. They're already in the situation they're in, and doing their best to get out of it. 

 

Really, what could be done? It's not like they're going "nah, these sites don't need backhaul yet. Wait on it, screw the rules consumer, we have money!". They're accepting sites as soon as they're finished. 

 

And, frankly, I don't think NV being behind is what's stopping your average customer from switching to Sprint. Your average consumer has no idea what "Four Gee Lite" is. They don't know about this and that network and megahertz and whatnots. They just know that Sprint's those yellow people who keep yelling about unlimited. Getting a real marketing campaign going is what's going to attract customers, not a network. The network attracts technically-minded power users, but the ads and the public perception are what bring people over.

And - Sprint's latest churn numbers only look bad because of the iDEN shutdown and lack of Nextel recaptures. So, yeah. Those low-ARPU customers were pretty much write-offs anyways.

 

Face it, Sprint is at least six months behind schedule! That means that they cannot offer fast data to people in each market. They have launched my market, but not 100%. That means that if I bought now, I will not get service at my condo or anywhere in my neighborhood. I am knowledgeable and can wait until they're fully launched, but if it is some joe scmo from the street and he experiences this patchwork of service, his opinion of Sprint will sour and he might not come back. So Sprint and contractors, get your shit together and finish markets. And Softbank, do not launch markets until they are finished. A mrketing campaign right now will result in a lot of disappointed customers.

Edited July 20, 2013 by bigsnake49

[shores]

Um, you know, Sprint is investing untold amounts of capital into its network, doing something no other carrier has done, and doing it faster. They're going at breakneck speeds. Are you following the acceptance reports at all? While you might not have LTE at your location, work is happening everywhere, as fast as possible. Sprint isn't waiting around on this. They're hiring as many contractors as they can. I really don't think, despite what you guys are saying Sprint "needs" to do, for them to go any faster. They're already in the situation they're in, and doing their best to get out of it. 

 

Really, what could be done? It's not like they're going "nah, these sites don't need backhaul yet. Wait on it, screw the rules consumer, we have money!". They're accepting sites as soon as they're finished. 

 

And, frankly, I don't think NV being behind is what's stopping your average customer from switching to Sprint. Your average consumer has no idea what "Four Gee Lite" is. They don't know about this and that network and megahertz and whatnots. They just know that Sprint's those yellow people who keep yelling about unlimited. Getting a real marketing campaign going is what's going to attract customers, not a network. The network attracts technically-minded power users, but the ads and the public perception are what bring people over.

And - Sprint's latest churn numbers only look bad because of the iDEN shutdown and lack of Nextel recaptures. So, yeah. Those low-ARPU customers were pretty much write-offs anyways.

Sprint might be investing millions into their network & people may or may not know that, but one thing they do know is when you are sitting in a group of people & the Sprint phone of the group won't pull up data as fast as everybody else that has AT&T or Verizon, they talk.  Example me being in Nashville that is an announced city for LTE.  I was trying to use my phone & LTE would barely work.  Had to finally shut off LTE & go with 3G.  SEVERAL people made the statement that Sprint is not the carrier to have in Nashville.  So the people you are talking down to & about are smarter than you think about the "FOUR GEE LITE" choices they have & will make.  Had several people try handing me their phones so I could actually get done what I needed to do.  And no these people are not techies either.  They just know what works & what doesn't work.

[DaQue]

Sprint might be investing millions into their network & people may or may not know that, but one thing they do know is when you are sitting in a group of people & the Sprint phone of the group won't pull up data as fast as everybody else that has AT&T or Verizon, they talk.  Example me being in Nashville that is an announced city for LTE.  I was trying to use my phone & LTE would barely work.  Had to finally shut off LTE & go with 3G.  SEVERAL people made the statement that Sprint is not the carrier to have in Nashville.  So the people you are talking down to & about are smarter than you think about the "FOUR GEE LITE" choices they have & will make.  Had several people try handing me their phones so I could actually get done what I needed to do.  And no these people are not techies either.  They just know what works & what doesn't work.

I agree with everything you said but one thing. Sprint is investing Billions.

 

Son's biggest hurdle won't be making the network great, it will be making people think its great after the buildout is complete. I get the Sprint sucks why on earth would you use them all the time. A guy on a local radio station call in show this last week after getting a computer question answered just added out of nowhere "do yourself a favor don't go with Sprint". It was in response to the host saying before he took callers that he got a notice USC was ending his service in St Louis.

 

That's why I feel when its time to expand the network footprint they should do it like everyone else does, block the signal while building an area  and only allow connections when its mostly done (way more than 50%) after an official launch. Too many people will think it sucks if they can get it part of the time while they are building it with a fringe signal. Once they think it sucks it will take a lot more convincing to change their minds.

 

Sprint rocks, not yet but soon.

[koiulpoi]

Face it, Sprint is at least six months behind schedule! That means that they cannot offer fast data to people in each market. They have launched my market, but not 100%. That means that if I bought now, I will not get service at my condo or anywhere in my neighborhood. I am knowledgeable and can wait until they're fully launched, but if it is some joe scmo from the street and he experiences this patchwork of service, his opinion of Sprint will sour and he might not come back. So Sprint and contractors, get your shit together and finish markets. And Softbank, do not launch markets until they are finished. A mrketing campaign right now will result in a lot of disappointed customers.

I mean, okay? Yes? I'm not saying "Sprint is omazing go with them now even if your data sucks". Yes, Sprint is in a bad position now. They are literally doing everything they can to make it right. Nobody is saying to go with a carrier that doesn't work for you. Again: nobody is saying that. If Sprint doesn't work for you, you shouldn't use them. You should leave, right now, and come back when NV is done if you want. But look in to the actual nationwide churn/growth numbers before using your hometown as an example for Sprint across the country.

 

Telling me to "face it" and that Sprint and the contractors need to "get [their] shit together and finish markets", despite literally being just told why that is a foolish opinion to hold, and asked what they could actually do, well, that sounds more like a "sprint sux!!11" rant than an actual opinion. Unless you have some real advice, or a feasible, actionable improvement, I'm telling you right now there is no way for the contractors to go faster. There literally aren't enough people available. This is faster than any other carrier.

[bigsnake49]

I mean, okay? Yes? I'm not saying "Sprint is omazing go with them now even if your data sucks". Yes, Sprint is in a bad position now. They are literally doing everything they can to make it right. Nobody is saying to go with a carrier that doesn't work for you. Again: nobody is saying that. If Sprint doesn't work for you, you shouldn't use them. You should leave, right now, and come back when NV is done if you want. But look in to the actual nationwide churn/growth numbers before using your hometown as an example for Sprint across the country.

 

Telling me to "face it" and that Sprint and the contractors need to "get [their] shit together and finish markets", despite literally being just told why that is a foolish opinion to hold, and asked what they could actually do, well, that sounds more like a "sprint sux!!11" rant than an actual opinion. Unless you have some real advice, or a feasible, actionable improvement, I'm telling you right now there is no way for the contractors to go faster. There literally aren't enough people available. This is faster than any other carrier.

 

I just did. The actionable improvement is for them to stop announcing markets until they're 80% done.

[shores]

I agree with everything you said but one thing. Sprint is investing Billions.

 

Son's biggest hurdle won't be making the network great, it will be making people think its great after the buildout is complete. I get the Sprint sucks why on earth would you use them all the time. A guy on a local radio station call in show this last week after getting a computer question answered just added out of nowhere "do yourself a favor don't go with Sprint". It was in response to the host saying before he took callers that he got a notice USC was ending his service in St Louis.

 

That's why I feel when its time to expand the network footprint they should do it like everyone else does, block the signal while building an area  and only allow connections when its mostly done (way more than 50%) after an official launch. Too many people will think it sucks if they can get it part of the time while they are building it with a fringe signal. Once they think it sucks it will take a lot more convincing to change their minds.

 

Sprint rocks, not yet but soon.

 

sorry about the billions & millions.  Get that mixed up all the time when I am balancing my check book

[S4GRU]

I disagree that Sprint should stop allowing people to use completed sites. That would be even worse. Can you imagine all the places not launched that have had lots of usable LTE service? Places like Washington DC, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Michigan...none of these places would have LTE. DC started getting service 8 months ago. It would be tragic if they didn't allow these complete sites to be used.

 

I do agree though that Sprint's methodology for launching markets with just 40% POP's is tragic. That's the problem here. Not early usage.

 

Robert from Note 2 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[koiulpoi]

I just did. The actionable improvement is for them to stop announcing markets until they're 80% done.

and there, I'm totally with you. With showing 100% or more on the coverage maps, but with less than 50% available, that's a huge mistake. This, however, has nothing to do with the speed of the rollout.

 

It does lead to an interesting other problem, though. I've had people ask me about where 4g LTE coverage is, and without the Sprint maps, I've had to continually send people to Sensorly. Which, is actually kinda a good thing.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

[JeffDTD]

This discussion has fallen into a familiar "evidence" trap. "Sprint isnt done with network vision, so since every comment isnt positive, its not marketable". Defeating the logic some oxygen drawing beings have deduced about a carrier with more than 15+ years of name recognition is akin to telling them that bigfoot isnt real regardless of their first hand experiences, or that their chihuahua didnt magically take their little honey booboo's asthma.

Customers who have had bad experiences can and are still found on every carrier, every day. Tmobile enjoys an anthemic drum beating marketing campaign, regardless of its network flaws. Why? The network meets some peoples needs. There is no reason sprint shouldnt market like hell. Even after 16B of additional investment, someone somewhere is going to tell u "sprint sucks" after a hardware malfunction or the network not loading their facebook fast enough. These people should stay at su.com.

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

 

[mr.phoneguy]

I wonder what Son it working on, he said no one else is so video like Dish probably isn't it. Let's hope its not 3D video chats or telepresence. 

 

I do hope he puts a fairly faston most sites sooner than 18 months but that would be a big job.

 

 

Also its after 5 and I have not seen anywhere that the Softbank deal actually closed today.

 

Update:

Ask and ye shall... ahem well I looked again just now.

 

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/07/10/2814046/sprint-and-softbank-announce-completion.html

Just to clarify,  2.5Ghz TDD will be placed on all NV sites on the Sprint network? I was under the impression Sprint planned on using most of their 2.5 Ghz holdings in larger markets like Chicago and New York. What are the chances smaller markets will get the 2.5? Also, will they have to further upgrade NV sites in terms of equipment? or will it be software upgrades?

[utiz4321]

This discussion has fallen into a familiar "evidence" trap. "Sprint isnt done with network vision, so since every comment isnt positive, its not marketable". Defeating the logic some oxygen drawing beings have deduced about a carrier with more than 15+ years of name recognition is akin to telling them that bigfoot isnt real regardless of their first hand experiences, or that their chihuahua didnt magically take their little honey booboo's asthma.

Customers who have had bad experiences can and are still found on every carrier, every day. Tmobile enjoys an anthemic drum beating marketing campaign, regardless of its network flaws. Why? The network meets some peoples needs. There is no reason sprint shouldnt market like hell. Even after 16B of additional investment, someone somewhere is going to tell u "sprint sucks" after a hardware malfunction or the network not loading their facebook fast enough. These people should stay at su.com.

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

The problem is that sprint's data network is the worst than any of the major carriers. That not just opinion, look at root metric, pc mag revue or the quality of sprint's legacy equipment vs the backhaul and equipment of other carriers (or trust you own eyes). Sprint is not in the position that AT&T and vzw are in, where a debate between which of these has the best network can really only be settled by saying it depends, sprint's network is objectively worst. That is one of the reasons network vision exist, if sprint that it's network was up to snuff they would do what VZW And AT&T did and deploy lte on top of their existing network (it would have been faster and cheaper) not rebuilding their network from the ground up. I haven't had any issues with the way sprint has handled NV (a little frustrated that it has been delayed but things happen) until sprint's new pricing plans and the way they have made it very difficult for new customers to get the old ones. To me this is a price hike and makes no sense given the state of their network. Until, they under go a major rebranding effort. (Hopefully started after NV is complete) I don't see how they can be anything else other than a discount carrier, there reputation is awful.

[JeffDTD]

Yes, Sprint's network has fallen to 4th place based on speed in several publications or lack of LTE availability. Not disputing that. It isnt objective, however, to associate a speed test ranking with usability. If the network is timing out on you, calls are failing, or you are trapped at 1x speeds, thats a legitimate complaint. But if sprint sucks because users 20mb/s > 4mb/s , comparing a limited to unlimited, well, its best to just pony up the $$ to go with the duopoly and remember to stay vigilant about free public wifi.

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.