Possible Sprint Int'l expansion (?)

[EmeraldReporter]

So, EON Wireless is a domestic roaming partner, which is good. All they need to do is work out a wholesale agreement with Sprint, and get enough leverage to add their 900MHz band to mobile devices.

 

A phone with 1900/800/900/2500/3600. That's gonna' be a nice set up!

[NGeorge]

I just stumbled across this thread...

 

I agree, a Canadian expansion would be a LOT to take on right now, and I don't think they should be distracted with anything they are doing domestically -- but that said, there is one (possibly two) possibilities that could make some sense without buying any additional spectrum -- particularly #1...

 

#1 Public Mobile -- Public Mobile is a low cost provider in Toronto and Montreal and seems to be doing OK compared to Mobilicity. It's also licensed in the PCS G block (they have the 10 mhz. license) and is using 1x CDMA currently--they also already have a low-cost roaming agreement with Sprint, providing .20/min roaming in the US (which is insanely cheap up there). Even without LTE they could buy the network, source phones from Sprint (giving them a much better selection) and a presence on both sides of the border. If they did a 1.5-3 mhz. LTE network, it would provide something comparable to the HSDPA providers up there -- again, not going for a national presence--but covering Toronto and Montreal is a start and could provide "USA Included" up there and "Canada Included" plans down here -- and it's already in CDMA, and in a block that isn't foreign to Sprint. Keep their Canadian division as a value play for Toronto/Montreal, get it self-sustaining, and only down the road add Vancouver, Alberta etc. into the mix (I believe Public owns the G block in the eastern half of Canada--there's a small holding company with the G block in the west)

 

#2 Mike -- the IDEN provider in Canada... I don't know what the re-banding situation is up there, but if Sprint could somehow buy Mike from Telus and basically do what they have done in the US, they could get a large (compared to Public Mobile) network they could convert to CDMA -- launch 3x3 or 5x5 LTE and 1x on it, share phones, have roaming between the countries -- with the additional benefit of harmonizing 800 on both sides of the border -- and getting rid of the SMR exclusion zone in the process...

 

In either scenario, I'd see Sprint being a value player in Canada -- I wouldn't expect them to really build out the network to a huge extent... they could pull this off with the 10 mhz. G block and or SMR (I'm assuming Mike has the same 14 mhz. like Nextel here -- possibly more) if they could provide city wide coverage in the 5 largest cities in Canada, with highway coverage to the border (and reasonable roaming rates inside Canada), that's really all they need -- especially if they had free roaming between the USA & Canada (on both sides) either included or for a small add-on fee, the service would be VERY compelling.

 

Nat

[Rawvega]

Public Mobile + Mike would be a very fascinating prospect. Indeed, I have had very similar thoughts, Nat. However, the problem with buying Mike from Telus is that Telus (Nor Bell or Rogers) wants additional competition coming into Canada trying to disrupt their cartel up there. Thus, even if they were to entertain the idea of selling Mike, they probably would try and extract an exorbitant price for it. 

[ericdabbs]

Public Mobile + Mike would be a very fascinating prospect. Indeed, I have had very similar thoughts, Nat. However, the problem with buying Mike from Telus is that Telus (Nor Bell or Rogers) wants additional competition coming into Canada trying to disrupt their cartel up there. Thus, even if they were to entertain the idea of selling Mike, they probably would try and extract an exorbitant price for it. 

 

They should just buy Mike just to shut them down to get rid of IDEN.  Need to clear up the interference issues in the Canada IBEZ markets.

[WiWavelength]

They should just buy Mike just to shut them down to get rid of IDEN.  Need to clear up the interference issues in the Canada IBEZ markets.

 

That does not necessarily clear up IBEZ issues.  You cannot assume that Telus Mike has contiguous spectrum.  If it is interleaved with Public Safety and other services, then it is useless for broadband operations.  Not to mention, Industry Canada probably has not approved broadband operations in SMR 800 MHz.

 

AJ

[kg4icg]

The roaming agreements are already in place because of the work Clear had started in tdd-lte. Asia/Pac and Central and South America are covered.

[jamesinclair]

Id like them to start out by acknowledging that international even exists. The rates are terrible, they only JUST starting giving us access to sim cards, and they offer nothing like verizons +Mexico or +Canada plans.

 

Give us roaming rates in Canada and mexico that make sense first. Texts cost money in Canada right? Theyre free at verizon.

 

And then, if anything, it probably makes more sense to look at a small market with high US tourist volume like the Bahamas.

[EmeraldReporter]

T-Mobile has done it. Albeit with only EDGE/2G service. No Push Notifications on iPhone is the only down-side.

[Bob Newhart]

All frequencies in the world won't do squat if they aren't used, like here in the USA.

 

Sprint needs to fix their shrinking US business first, and that is what they're trying to do.

[jamesinclair]

Yeah all I can say is good luck with that dream.  Unlimited data roaming is pretty nuts.

 

This is a funny post in light of T mobiles huge announcement

[ericdabbs]

This is a funny post in light of T mobiles huge announcement

 

Ehhh I guess with 2G EDGE global roaming.  I mean anything is better than nothing but to seem i am blown away..I am not.  Its not like unlimited youtube watching global wide.  At most some very light browsing or email.  Also you still have to pay for voice roaming and I am not sure what they mean by unlimited text though.  How do I text my friend when I am in Germany to someone in the US?  Does it just route through German Tmobile towers and across the ocean to Tmobile towers in the US?

[Fraydog]

This is a funny post in light of T mobiles huge announcement

 

What do you expect SoftBank to do when they are trying to repair years of Sprint being a cluster you know what?  They're best off focusing one market at a time. 

[Bob Newhart]

Ehhh I guess with 2G EDGE global roaming.  I mean anything is better than nothing but to seem i am blown away..I am not.  Its not like unlimited youtube watching global wide.  At most some very light browsing or email.  Also you still have to pay for voice roaming and I am not sure what they mean by unlimited text though.  How do I text my friend when I am in Germany to someone in the US?  Does it just route through German Tmobile towers and across the ocean to Tmobile towers in the US?

 

Yes.

 

Roaming in Simple Global Countries

• Data roaming requires a domestic roaming feature.
• Includes Unlimited Web at standard speeds of approximately 128Kbps & Unlimited Messaging in Simple Global countries. 128kbps speed is ideal for email, web pages, navigation, and social apps.
• $0.20/minute voice calling to Simple Global countries (including the U.S.).
• $0.00/message, unlimited text messages (SMS) and picture messages (MMS) to any mobile number in Simple Global countries (including the U.S.).

 

http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-9455

[centermedic]

All frequencies in the world won't do squat if they aren't used, like here in the USA.

 

Sprint needs to fix their shrinking US business first, and that is what they're trying to do.

There is no reason that Softbank cant enter new markets or expand others. While Sprint is an important acquisition it is not Softbanks only market.. 

[TheCUJuan]

There is no reason that Softbank cant enter new markets or expand others. While Sprint is an important acquisition it is not Softbanks only market.. 

And I'd hope they can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[Rawvega]

With many LTE handsets supporting UMTS (and GSM) as well as TD-LTE starting to be incorporated, it might be nice for SoftBank to offer free roaming in Japan to Sprint customers. That certainly won't match t-mobile's 100 countries, but it's a start. They could also offer their customers free U.S. roaming on Sprint, but that would require their customer's handsets to have PCS & SMR CDMA as well as Band 25, 26 & 41 LTE so that doesn't seem likely unfortunately.

[TheCUJuan]

With many LTE handsets supporting UMTS (and GSM) as well as TD-LTE starting to be incorporated, it might be nice for SoftBank to offer free roaming in Japan to Sprint customers. That certainly won't match t-mobile's 100 countries, but it's a start. They could also offer their customers free U.S. roaming on Sprint, but that would require their customer's handsets to have PCS & SMR CDMA as well as Band 25, 26 & 41 LTE so that doesn't seem likely unfortunately.

I think the Sprint's iPhone 5S is the same unit as Softbank's? 

[Rawvega]

True, the iPhone 5S & 5C would work on both networks equally well (except for LTE band 41). From here on out every Sprint phone should include GSM/UMTS radios and perhaps every handset that SoftBank sells should include support for Sprint's CDMA & LTE networks.

It's also interesting that until about a year or two ago that Sprint had arguably out of the big four the most compelling international data plan at $40 for unlimited regardless of whether it was 2G or 3G. Then they abandoned that for (much) more expensive options. Hopefully this maneuver from t-mobile will force them to rethink their international offerings a bit.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
 

[compuwizz]

An interesting note, when Sprint first launched International roaming on CDMA, they allowed unlimited data and text in Canada on EVDO. They probably did this to iron out any billing issues. Granted there wasn't facebook or twitter back then for me to use my Samsung A900 Blade on other than googling an address. I don't even think there was a mobile version of google maps back then on WAP.

 

However unlimited texting while in Canada has remained free.

[Conan Kudo]

True, the iPhone 5S & 5C would work on both networks equally well (except for LTE band 41). From here on out every Sprint phone should include GSM/UMTS radios and perhaps every handset that SoftBank sells should include support for Sprint's CDMA & LTE networks.

 

It's also interesting that until about a year or two ago that Sprint had arguably out of the big four the most compelling international data plan at $40 for unlimited regardless of whether it was 2G or 3G. Then they abandoned that for (much) more expensive options. Hopefully this maneuver from t-mobile will force them to rethink their international offerings a bit.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

SoftBank will never change its requirements to include CDMA. Adding support for Sprint's and T-Mobile's LTE networks will come very soon, but there's absolutely no reason to include CDMA on its phones (excluding iPhones). It is a UMTS/LTE operator, not a CDMA one.

[Rawvega]

And Sprint is a CDMA operator, not a UMTS one and yet a number of their handsets support UMTS...

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Fraydog]

The future here is voice over IP standards like VoLTE. Sprint and SoftBank can standardize on those... though, to be fair, if Sprint can accelerate VoLTE deployment, they can free up enough bandwidth that they could later add UMTS channels if they wished. 

 

It would send the CDMA network to hell but them's the breaks. If SoftBank wants to do it, then it's going to happen. The CDMA forever crowd will be sad, as will the lockdown hawks, but oh well. 

[Rawvega]

If and when Sprint deploys VoLTE, why would they need UMTS?

[Fraydog]

If and when Sprint deploys VoLTE, why would they need UMTS?

 

If SoftBank needs roaming and is tired of paying AT&T. 

 

Personally, I would advise them to just build in VoLTE capability on all sides and just go to that, but SoftBank's engineers from Japan could have a completely different appraisal of the situation. TD-LTE VoLTE isn't even that far away, it's going to be something China Mobile uses pretty much right away.  

 

If anything I think SoftBank's choices would be done to benefit the TD-LTE ecosystem. I wish they could get another US carrier like AT&T to bite. That would only help both parties IMO. 

[insurance]

I think China Mobile and Clears relationship is strong, so they could build some relationships internationally... It may not happen immediately but I think it is something that is definitely tabled for now until soft bank gets USA plans sorted.