Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

[Paynefanbro]

Hard to believe overall score in Atlanta, GA @ #4.  http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/atlanta-ga

 

Sprint only weakness is the Speed Index.  Does it hurt Sprint that bad?  I thought Atlanta is a rock solid network for Sprint too.

 

Came out 1st on Reliability Index, Call Performance and Text Performance.

 

It seems like Sprint's speeds are pretty high too at 10 down and 5 up. However, the other carriers are also really fast. Sprint seems to have done really good in reliability there too so I'd go with speeds pulling them down like you said.

[Ascertion]

Seems the network vision is starting to pay off in big cities . San Antonio joins Chicago as a Sprint strong market http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/san-antonio-tx/2015/1H

I love it.  Sprint's starting to be recoginized by their 800mhz CDMA network for reliability (in some cases, even beating Verizon's reliability.)  B41 w/ the scalable backhaul is going to be even better.  I am curious what the markets will score in the first half and second half this year once Sprint turns on a bunch of the B41 goodness and activates CA.

[derrph]

Wow what a change from 4th to 2nd. These are the results we need when testing in the majority of markets. Sprint held its own very well in every area. Getting these numbers will definitely put people on notice and helping fix the brand.

 

 

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[nahum365]

It seems like Sprint's speeds are pretty high too at 10 down and 5 up. However, the other carriers are also really fast. Sprint seems to have done really good in reliability there too so I'd go with speeds pulling them down like you said.

Unless there's some other factor that they're not showing us, IMO Sprint deserved at least #3. Sprint was first in 3 categories while T-Mobile wasn't on top for any of them. Definitely hard to believe.

 

 

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[JosefTor]

Unless there's some other factor that they're not showing us, IMO Sprint deserved at least #3. Sprint was first in 3 categories while T-Mobile wasn't on top for any of them. Definitely hard to believe.

 

 

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Luckily, with B41 deployed with full backhaul and CA, Sprint will start to take the speed area as well. It does suck though that RootMetrics doesn't grade on a sliding scale. 4 Mbps - - > 8 Mbps should be weighted more than an equivalent jump of speed from 40 Mbps - - > 80 Mbps. Or, above a certain amount, it would be good if you got high scores such as 10 Mbps. I understand why they don't do this though as almost all the carriers would receive close to 100% scores.

 

Top bad though that Sprint delayed carrier aggregation and didn't bring full backhaul off the bat. Had they not saved money on the backhaul like I had recommended, Sprint would reap an order of magnitude more in return over what they save in being thrifty.

[lou99/maximus1987]

Luckily, with B41 deployed with full backhaul and CA, Sprint will start to take the speed area as well. It does suck though that RootMetrics doesn't grade on a sliding scale. 4 Mbps - - > 8 Mbps should be weighted more than an equivalent jump of speed from 40 Mbps - - > 80 Mbps. Or, above a certain amount, it would be good if you got high scores such as 10 Mbps. I understand why they don't do this though as almost all the carriers would receive close to 100% scores.

 

Top bad though that Sprint delayed carrier aggregation and didn't bring full backhaul off the bat. Had they not saved money on the backhaul like I had recommended, Sprint would reap an order of magnitude more in return over what they save in being thrifty.

One phone supports carrier aggregation on Sprint.

[anthony.spina97]

Had they not saved money on the backhaul like I had recommended, Sprint would reap an order of magnitude more in return over what they save in being thrifty.

I'm sure that if you were the one planning Network Vision years ago with the budget that Sprint was working with, you wouldn't have been able to follow your backhaul "recommendations", either. But you're right, had they been able to plan with more than "just in time" backhaul, they would be much further ahead in the game than they are. At least they are making up for it, though, and at a blistering pace, too.

 

-Anthony

[Fraydog]

I'm sure that if you were the one planning Network Vision years ago with the budget that Sprint was working with, you wouldn't have been able to follow your backhaul "recommendations", either. But you're right, had they been able to plan with more than "just in time" backhaul, they would be much further ahead in the game than they are. At least they are making up for it, though, and at a blistering pace, too.

 

-Anthony

 

A few points to make:

 

1. Sprint was fairly assertive about ramping up backhaul where they had AAV, even in the worst of the Azzi/Elfman days. To be fair to them, they had their hands tied with 5x5 LTE in 1900 where the current network team has 800 and 2500 to add to the arsenal. 

2. Where bad carriers like Clink (CenturyLink) and Frontier exist the going was slower because they were bad at doing what they do. These carriers have affected T-Mobile and AT&T rural buildouts too through their slowness, Sprint is not the only one with issues due to these dinosaurs. Where AT&T and Verizon is used, Sprint has usually had better luck with backhaul, as funny as that sounds. 

[bmoses]

i'm fairly certain the answer is going to be no, but i just want to verify.

 

one of my co-workers is on verizon and wants to switch to sprint. Is there any plans he can sign up for as a new customer and get a phone at the "2-year service agreement" price?

[caspar347]

i'm fairly certain the answer is going to be no, but i just want to verify.

 

one of my co-workers is on verizon and wants to switch to sprint. Is there any plans he can sign up for as a new customer and get a phone at the "2-year service agreement" price?

I don't know for sure, but I think there are still ways to get Unlimited My Way plans somehow. But I think most of the newer plans that require Easy Pay are cheaper after you factor everything in.

 

(I totally understand if the co-worker is squeamish about/confused by the financing plans though.)

[dedub]

yes you can still get 2 year contracts.

 

go to sprint.com select a phone details, under payment options dropdown there is 2 year service agreement plan.

 

its $85 month unlimited everything.

 

or you can chose from the family data share plans.

 

which is $140 for 20 gig and 1 device.

[lou99/maximus1987]

I don't know for sure, but I think there are still ways to get Unlimited My Way plans somehow. But I think most of the newer plans that require Easy Pay are cheaper.

 

(I totally understand if the co-worker is squeamish about the financing plans though.)

 

Why would he be squeamish? It's just an accounting move. It barely changes what one pays over 2 years.

[cletus]

Seems the network vision is starting to pay off in big cities . San Antonio joins Chicago as a Sprint strong market http://www.rootmetrics.com/us/rsr/san-antonio-tx/2015/1H

Well, I heard from friends that T-Mobile speeds had gone down in SA but wow, it looks like every carrier is getting absolutely hammered on their speeds there.

[caspar347]

Why would he be squeamish? It's just an accounting move. It barely changes what one pays over 2 years.

Some people (like my parents) just prefer a subsidy model where the phone cost is included in the plan. I don't know why.

 

(And in my case I don't really care since we are getting a great deal on ED1500 and have no reason to switch.)

[Ascertion]

Some people (like my parents) just prefer a subsidy model where the phone cost is included in the plan. I don't know why.

 

(And in my case I don't really care since we are getting a great deal on ED1500 and have no reason to switch.)

I, too prefer to have subsidy.  It's just easier overall and you own the phone when you walk out of the store.  I have no plans on switching carriers so the ETF doesn't bother me and overall each line comes to about ~$45/month with mostly new phones, so it's cheaper than Framily when it's maxed out and subsidy keeps the bill the same.

[bcltoys]

I, too prefer to have subsidy.  It's just easier overall and you own the phone when you walk out of the store.  I have no plans on switching carriers so the ETF doesn't bother me and overall each line comes to about ~$45/month with mostly new phones, so it's cheaper than Framily when it's maxed out and subsidy keeps the bill the same.

When on a edge plan with Verizon do you own the phone when its paid off.

[Ascertion]

When on a edge plan with Verizon do you own the phone when its paid off.

Any phone that is financed is technically owned by the carrier until you pay it off 100%. With contracts, the device cost is ~$200, while the rest is subsidized and counted as monthly service cost.

 

Sent from my M8

[utiz4321]

I, too prefer to have subsidy. It's just easier overall and you own the phone when you walk out of the store. I have no plans on switching carriers so the ETF doesn't bother me and overall each line comes to about ~$45/month with mostly new phones, so it's cheaper than Framily when it's maxed out and subsidy keeps the bill the same.

Yeah that plan is under priced. On installments you own the phone when you walk out of the store in the same way you own anything you put on a credit card. I seriously don't get this you don't own the phone business. If I buy a steak on a credit card I don't own it only when I pay it off, I can grill and eat it right away.

[Ascertion]

Yeah that plan is under priced. On installments you own the phone when you walk out of the store in the same way you own anything you put on a credit card. I seriously don't get this you don't own the phone business. If I buy a steak on a credit card I don't own it only when I pay it off, I can grill and eat it right away.

It matters because of things like resell during contract or wanting a SIM unlock. Both are limited if the device isn't fully paid off.

 

Sent from my M8

[dedub]

Yeah that plan is under priced. On installments you own the phone when you walk out of the store in the same way you own anything you put on a credit card. I seriously don't get this you don't own the phone business. If I buy a steak on a credit card I don't own it only when I pay it off, I can grill and eat it right away.

 

Basically with easypay/installments, you are getting free financing through sprint (interest free and with no collateral).

 

If you paid for a phone via credit card, you are paying sprint in full, while deferring payments to your credit card company (and potentially paying interest on it). So sprint has their money, they don't have to put any additional restrictions on it.

 

As with your steak, as far as the restaurant (or grocery) is concerned, your bill is paid in full (via credit card), it doesn't matter to them if you are late on your CC payment, they have already been paid.

 

Of course if you did a charge-back on your meal, then the restaurant would be unhappy and either write it off and put you on the no-serve list, or possibly take you to small claims court (if you did a large enough charge back).

 

The same with sprint, if you decide to switch back to a different provider, you either have to pay off your sprint phones or deal with the consequences of not doing so.

[utiz4321]

It matters because of things like resell during contract or wanting a SIM unlock. Both are limited if the device isn't fully paid off.

 

Sent from my M8

Not true. Devices on sprint are unlocked after three months whether unpaid or undercontract. On Att a device undercontract will not be unlock unless the contract is fulfilled, so it is easier to get a phone unlocked with installments. As far as resell it doesn't matter at all.

[nahum365]

Not true. Devices on sprint are unlocked after three months whether unpaid or undercontract. On Att a device undercontract will not be unlock unless the contract is fulfilled, so it is easier to get a phone unlocked with installments. As far as resell it doesn't matter at all.

Devices on Sprint haven't been able to be domestically unlocked period until very recently. Even now, the contract must be fulfilled or the installment balance must be paid off before (some select) devices can be unlocked.

 

 

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[utiz4321]

Devices on Sprint haven't been able to be domestically unlocked period until very recently. Even now, the contract must be fulfilled or the installment balance must be paid off before (some select) devices can be unlocked.

 

 

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Weird. I have gotten my last three phones unlocked.

[nahum365]

Weird. I have gotten my last three phones unlocked.

Those must have been international unlocks.

 

 

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[joshuam]

Wait? Sprint has Carry Over Data now?

 

http://newsroom.sprint.com/featured-articles/sprints-plans-promos-and-offers-prove-compelling-to-customers-hard-to-match-for-rivals.htm

 

Did I miss something?