Sprints 'Happy Connecting' Event

[sbolen]

Via The Verge:

It sounds wonderful — and right in line with the "uncarrier" image that firebrand CEO John Legere has worked so hard to cultivate — but it's a terribly slippery slope: T-Mobile has decided, arbitrarily, that some of the data traveling over its pipes should count against a cap, while other data should not. What's to stop it from using data cap exemptions as a punitive measure against content providers that aren't on good terms with T-Mobile (or its parent company Deutsche Telekom)?

http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5822996/t-mobile-music-freedom-net-neutrality

[JWMaloney]

iPhone 5S test drive and music services (lots of them) streaming for free, regardless of data allotment. 

 

Also of note, MetroPCS customers were counted in their customer gained statistics. 

That's exactly what I said Sprint should have done at their last event.

[cdk]

iPhone 5S test drive and music services (lots of them) streaming for free, regardless of data allotment. 

 

Also of note, MetroPCS customers were counted in their customer gained statistics. 

 

[sbolen]

The comments on that Verge article are actually pretty good.

 

This is bad because if I was on Tmobile I would be strongly considering switching from Google Play Music to Spotify right now. That incentive shouldn’t exist, it’s not how these music services should be competing. The best product should win not the one that made a deal with a wireless carrier.

[sbolen]

The iPhone test drive is interesting... Mainly because iPhone users historically use metric shitloads of data, and that could congest the network quite a bit.

[Fraydog]

Sprint should respond like this:

 

1. Announce double down of Spark: double their current deployment targets. Aim for 200 MM Spark POP's by year end and all Spark network by end of 2015.

2. Make all the streaming music services that T-Mobile has along with Google Music and Beats Music free immediately.

3. Announce SIM unlocking for all international travel, let people know they can get SIM services overseas with LTE for cheap.

4. Galaxy S5 Test Drive: Samsung would be game. Trust me.

5. All contract plans are gone. From now on Framily is the main plan structure. EasyPay yearly upgrade become available for all TEP customers after one year.

 

Long term: start VoLTE acceleration. Begin plans to move smartphone customers to fully 3GPP VoLTE architecture.

[marioc21]

iPhone 5S test drive and music services (lots of them) streaming for free, regardless of data allotment. 

 

Also of note, MetroPCS customers were counted in their customer gained statistics.

 

Was there something about free music streaming? All I've seen Is that some streaming services will no longer count against your data cap.

[david279]

Google play music destroys data compared to spotify or pandora. Thats why Google added that streaming quality setting in a update. I think its one reason its not in the first round of streaming apps.

[Fraydog]

Was there something about free music streaming? All I've seen Is that some streaming services will no longer count against your data cap.

T-Mobile also has their own UnRadio thing they're trotting out. I'll be interested to see what it is. 

[Fraydog]

Google play music destroys data compared to spotify or pandora. Thats why Google added that streaming quality setting in a update. I think its one reason its not in the first round of streaming apps.

Beats was also excluded. They're probably waiting for Apple to give them the green light on that. 

 

Pretty telling the device Legere held in his hand was the 5S. On a different note, this was clearly the most polished he's been in a keynote yet. I felt a lot of the pitch was preparing for the future this time. Very few shots at Sprint. Mostly "duopoly". If I didn't know better I'd guess he reads S4GRU. 

 

Hi John!

[Fraydog]

FWIW, in the online voting, Google Music is running away with the first place in their live voting results.

[WiWavelength]

iPhone 5S test drive and music services (lots of them) streaming for free, regardless of data allotment.

 

A candy-colored clown they call the sandman

Tiptoes to my room every night

Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper

"Go to sleep. Everything is all right."

 

I close my eyes, Then I drift away

Into the magic night. I softly say

A silent prayer like streamers do.

Then I fall asleep to stream my streams of you.

 

At Legere's age, though, he may not be able to muster much of a stream.  He probably needs some Flomax.

 

AJ

[4GHoward]

#7nightstand test drive their network with an iPhone 5s, music streaming and adding 17million customers since uncarrier 1.0

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

And to add to that, T-Mobile has expanded the new Wideband LTE network into 16 total markets and the VoLTE expansion into 15 total markets.

[EvanA]

And to add to that T-Mobile has expanded the new Wideband LTE network into 16 total markets and the VoLTE expansion into 15 total markets.

And Legere mentioned that VoLTE will be 100% deployed by the end of the year.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[derrph]

And Legere mentioned that VoLTE will be 100% deployed by the end of the year.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Thats a feat right there. If they accomplish this I would applaud T-Mobile with open arms. But I must say they are not playing no games.

[EvanA]

Thats a feat right there. If they accomplish this I would applaud T-Mobile with open arms. But I must say they are not playing no games.

They already have started testing in Seattle. Once they feel like it's ready it's as simple as pushing out the software.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[derrph]

T-Mobile shot AT&T dead in the face tonight with the streaming music not counting against your data allotment. I know AT&T has been talking about this sponsored data and the whole not counting towards your data allotment thing for a few months but their rival has beat them to it. I can not wait to see how AT&T responds to this.

[JeffDTD]

These changes make me less interested in a merger.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[derrph]

These changes make me less interested in a merger.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

How so?

[Bob Newhart]

How so?

 

I feel that T-Mobile achieves what they set out to do, Sprint doesn't.

[derrph]

I feel that T-Mobile achieves what they set out to do, Sprint doesn't.

 

 

True but Sprint is just slightly slower but I think they realize now that they can't just start stuff and then stop. It is way too much competition out here (T-Mobile). Merger or not Sprint still needs to cover their butts. I am more so want to see how T-Mobile is going to handle this whole 2G to LTE conversion. They set a year to do this but I don't think it will be fully done cause a lot of work needed for that level of work. Look on the brighter side you have data coverage outside of city limits!!

 

 

Sprint is coming along.

[S4GRU]

I feel that T-Mobile achieves what they set out to do, Sprint doesn't.

This just is a ridiculous thing to say. Sprint is achieving what it set out to do. It's just taking it longer than they planned. NV2.0 is going faster than planned even.

 

I get why you're not happy with Sprint, but you can't say Sprint doesn't do what they set out to do. Don't give up your credibility so easily with a false and extreme comment.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[WiWavelength]

I feel that T-Mobile achieves what they set out to do, Sprint doesn't.

 

Taking eight years and counting to roll out W-CDMA to its network, deploying LTE to small "islands" of coverage, and now undermining Net Neutrality -- if that is achieving what it sets out to do, T-Mobile can bite me.

 

AJ

[Fraydog]

This just is a ridiculous thing to say. Sprint is achieving what it set out to do. It's just taking it longer than they planned. NV2.0 is going faster than planned even.

 

I get why you're not happy with Sprint, but you can't say Sprint doesn't do what they set out to do. Don't give up your credibility so easily with a false and extreme comment.

 

Robert via Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

T-Mo is making an evolutionary upgrade for them. Most of the infrastructure and backhaul for LTE was already in place for them when they started the LTE upgrades. Nokia had already had Flexi base stations software upgradable to LTE along with Ericsson RBS stations that could be upgraded with channel cards over most of their HSPA network. Most of the addition was additional Flexis at tower top for capacity and better antenna packages including Ericsson AIR in Ericsson T-Mobile markets.

 

Contrast that to Sprint who was in such shambles after the Nextel debacle that they had to essentially rebuild the entire freaking network. Every single step of it. Core, backhaul, base stations, antennas, all of it had to be replaced. In hindsight it should have been easy to see which network was going to get up to speed faster in urban areas. 

 

T-Mobile doesn't even have a modernized network outside of cities in lots of cases. In my hometown where T-Mobile covers with EDGE, T-Mobile uses T1 to backhaul an ancient Nokia Ultrasite. Even for T-Mobile to deploy LTE they have to get fiber to the site and deploy new Flexi's here. They can't upgrade the channel card or software of the Ultrasite. For that upgrade to work, it has to be decommissioned and replaced with a new Flexi Multiradio 10. 

 

It's two completely different upgrade processes. Sprint had more of a turnaround task than anyone had thought. What we're seeing now is inevitable. Sprint's plans are better now, but I feel there's still big changes needed to really compete in the era of all data.

[Fraydog]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2459681,00.asp

 

Lots of tidbits about T-Mobile's strategy and weaknesses here. 

 

Some people say T-Mobile's rural coverage doesn't matter, but that's disingenuous to say when T-Mobile's own CTO and vice president of radio engineering acknowledge that it's an issue with their network.