Sprint to buy PCS spectrum from Revol Wireless

[bigsnake49]

Sprint today filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission seeking permission to acquire the spectrum licenses held by a company called Cleveland Unlimited Inc. At issue are 12 licenses that provide PCS coverage across portions of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If the transaction is approved, Sprint will gain 10 to 16.4MHz in 56 counties, giving it a total of 129.5MHz of spectrum in the coverage area.

 

http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=13207

 

[EXLINE]

I know revol is in Indianapolis. Hope this goes through

 

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[ericdabbs]

Sprint today filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission seeking permission to acquire the spectrum licenses held by a company called Cleveland Unlimited Inc. At issue are 12 licenses that provide PCS coverage across portions of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If the transaction is approved, Sprint will gain 10 to 16.4MHz in 56 counties, giving it a total of 129.5MHz of spectrum in the coverage area.

 

http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=13207

 

Nice find.  I think Sprint needs to be doing more of these minor transactions to bulk up their PCS holdings in all parts of the US.

[cdk]

If it won't effect current Revol subscriber's as mentioned in the FCC docs it should go through fairly easy. It looks like all of the licenses are in C, E, & F blocks. A minimum of another 10 MHz of PCS in each area. Considering Sprint is relatively limited in PCS spectrum in those areas it makes sense.

[Nickel]

If it won't effect current Revol subscriber's as mentioned in the FCC docs it should go through fairly easy. It looks like all of the licenses are in C, E, & F blocks. A minimum of another 10 MHz of PCS in each area. Considering Sprint is relatively limited in PCS spectrum in those areas it makes sense.

I'd like for Sprint to try and get through swaps/acquisitions as many F block licenses as they can.. 

[WiWavelength]

I'd like for Sprint to try and get through swaps/acquisitions as many F block licenses as they can.. 

 

The PCS C and F blocks are the bidding credit ghetto.  Sprint does not hold many of those licenses, but it pains me to see the few that Sprint does.

 

AJ

[cdk]

The PCS C and F blocks are the bidding credit ghetto. Sprint does not hold many of those licenses, but it pains me to see the few that Sprint does.

 

AJ

The bidding credit ghetto??? I must be missing something here....

[Nickel]

The bidding credit ghetto??? I must be missing something here....

I don't know but I think maybe the C and F were somehow limited so only smaller companies could bid for them and thus making them cheap.

 

Also AJ, do you not agree that since Sprint has the nationwide G block that Sprint should try and make their PCS as contiguous as possible? 

[WiWavelength]

Also AJ, do you not agree that since Sprint has the nationwide G block that Sprint should try and make their PCS as contiguous as possible? 

 

Just remember that the PCS F and G blocks are not adjacent.

 

 

AJ

[Nickel]

Just remember that the PCS F and G blocks are not adjacent.

 

 

AJ

 I knew I should have look that up. OK, then do you think that Sprint should try acquire as much C block as they can to make their PCS more contiguous?

[Fraydog]

Yeah, the C block.     

 

Revol spectrum can be used for additional LTE channels for single band devices, so I think this is all good. 

[WiWavelength]

Here is a table of the PCS licenses to be acquired from Revol:

 

 

Revol appears to be closing up shop.  A lot of poor people are going to be pissed off.  Of course, in Cleveland, maybe they will just use pay phones...

 

 

AJ

[Dfarley]

We won't need pay phones in Cleveland any longer since the current administration was kind enough to outfit each of us with a phone:

[avb]

Hopefully Sprint can do something similar in their spectrum challenged markets like Houston.  If the AT&T merger with Leap Wireless goes through hopefully they will have to divest some pcs spectrum and Sprint can scoop some up.

[cdk]

Revol appears to be closing up shop.  A lot of poor people are going to be pissed off.  Of course, in Cleveland, maybe they will just use pay phones...

 

AJ

 

According to the FCC doc this transaction shouldn't affect their customers... I suppose they have some additional spectrum.

[WiWavelength]

According to the FCC doc this transaction shouldn't affect their customers... I suppose they have some additional spectrum.

 

Nope, this *is* Revol's wireless spectrum.  And according to the documents filed with the FCC, Revol will seek to transition (read: sell) its subs to another provider.  Otherwise, those subs' service will be terminated following a 30 day notice.

 

In a nutshell, Sprint could purchase but does not want Revol's sub prime customer base.

 

AJ

[cdk]

Nope, this *is* Revol's wireless spectrum.  And according to the documents filed with the FCC, Revol will seek to transition (read: sell) its subs to another provider.  Otherwise, those subs' service will be terminated following a 30 day notice.

 

In a nutshell, Sprint could purchase but does not want Revol's sub prime customer base.

 

AJ

 

I must have missed that...I suppose I should do more than glance at them next time.

[digiblur]

We won't need pay phones in Cleveland any longer since the current administration was kind enough to outfit each of us with a phone:

 

And pay your mortgage and gas too...

 

[ericdabbs]

Hopefully Sprint can do something similar in their spectrum challenged markets like Houston. If the AT&T merger with Leap Wireless goes through hopefully they will have to divest some pcs spectrum and Sprint can scoop some up.

I hope so. Sprint needs to buy more PCS spectrum in major markets with 20 mhz

 

Sent from my LG G2 LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Fraydog]

Nope, this *is* Revol's wireless spectrum. And according to the documents filed with the FCC, Revol will seek to transition (read: sell) its subs to another provider. Otherwise, those subs' service will be terminated following a 30 day notice.

 

In a nutshell, Sprint could purchase but does not want Revol's sub prime customer base.

 

AJ

Sprint can still serve those customers through Boost, Virgin, or Assurance. In fact it's better to serve the subprime customers that way.

 

Isn't Assurance Sprint's Lifeline program, I know people call it Obamaphone but that isn't accurate since the program was created under Bush to aid Katrina victims.

[gnoj]

Sprint can still serve those customers through Boost, Virgin, or Assurance. In fact it's better to serve the subprime customers that way. Isn't Assurance Sprint's Lifeline program, I know people call it Obamaphone but that isn't accurate since the program was created under Bush to aid Katrina victims.

 

That is probably where most of their customers will end up. If Sprint directly "bought" their customer base then they'd presumably have to honor the terms of their existing service plans, which wouldn't make sense since Revol didn't have contracts.

 

And yea, the Lifeline program was established in 1985 during the Reagan Administration and expanded to include the option to use a cell phone instead of a landline by the FCC during the Bush Administration in 2005.

[WiWavelength]

Just a reminder, folks, as much as I would love to jump in and use rhetoric to kick some ass, that is not going to happen -- not for me, not for anyone else.  Partisan political discussion does not lead S4GRU to a positive place.  Let it slide...

 

AJ

[bigsnake49]

That is probably where most of their customers will end up. If Sprint directly "bought" their customer base then they'd presumably have to honor the terms of their existing service plans, which wouldn't make sense since Revol didn't have contracts.

 

 

Would they allow them to bring their phones over or would they need to buy new phones?

[Rocket87]

Would they allow them to bring their phones over or would they need to buy new phones?

 

Just like the USC customers this summer in the Midwest, these people would need need new phones and just like USC customers they probably all are sub prime.

 

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[gnoj]

Just like the USC customers this summer in the Midwest, these people would need need new phones and just like USC customers they probably all are sub prime.

 

First of all, Sprint did not purchase any USCC customers- that was purely a PCS spectrum transfer. USCC customers were released from their contracts and free to choose any carrier they wished. Sprint was not under any obligation to take them on, and has only offered a couple small incentives for them to choose Sprint. US Cellular continues to service and bill their subscribers (albeit with some difficulty lately) until they either port out or the network is shut down.

 

Whether or not new customers who already use CDMA phones would be able to continue to use those phones is entirely up to Sprint. Given that the company continues to use an MEID whitelist rather than a blacklist for activations, and refused to flash over US Cellular phones to Sprint's network for those people who chose to go with them, it is very likely that Revol customers would have to get new phones, whether their accounts are directly and automatically acquired by Sprint or ported-in later separately.

 

Assuming new phones are required, Sprint would then have to either release any acquired subscribers from their contracts, or continue the contract but provide a replacement handset. Since they presumably paid to acquire that subscriber's account, that is an additional expense that likely wouldn't make sense. Hence, that is why Sprint will not purchase Revol's customers, unless they are prepared to allow them to continue to use their phones, which they in all likelihood are not.

 

Lastly, I would not consider USCC's customers as "subprime." They have the highest ARPU of the top 10 carriers, and their new shared postpaid data plans are directly copied from Verizon's. Most choose them because they offer the best coverage where they live (this is particularly true in Iowa), and had great customer service that encouraged brand loyalty. That latter attribute has now gone out the window, but USCC remains about as far as you can get from being the most affordable option.