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

[Johnner1999]

Oh God No!

 

My dad still has a landline on Verizon and I have Broadband Internet through Verizon.

 

Verizon is bad enough to deal with, but Comcast sux!

I doubt it could occur unless it's only in current Comcast markets.

 

I assume Frontier will continue to buy landline service. Till they can't borrow no more...

 

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[jamisonshaw125]

The other day while I was in the process of switching my plan over, a Comcast employee came in. He wanted to exchange out his otter box case for his note 4 or whatever it was. The employee said that he is sorry, but they no longer have cases for that device so there are no cases to swap out to. 

 

Boy did mr comcast employee not like that. He went off "rabble rabble rabble, if Comcast ran their business this way they would have no business." "sprint has to have the absolute worst customer service ever, this is un believable blah blah blah." Meanwhile I was laughing because I don't think he was hearing the words he was saying. Comcast...having better customer service than any company on the planet, is laughable. Has he forgotten who he works for? 

 

I was tempted to write down his van number and call corporate and complain that he was using his hours to bitch in a public store, while representing comcast but I realized that Comcast customer service sucks and I do not want to spend 2 hours on hold to talk to someone in a different part of the world.

[Ascertion]

Boy did mr comcast employee not like that. He went off "rabble rabble rabble, if Comcast ran their business this way they would have no business." "sprint has to have the absolute worst customer service ever, this is un believable blah blah blah." Meanwhile I was laughing because I don't think he was hearing the words he was saying. Comcast...having better customer service than any company on the planet, is laughable. Has he forgotten who he works for?

To be fair, Comcast's service works well, they just cram things into your bill and make it absolute hell if you have an issue with service. Thankfully I don't have to call often.

[bigsnake49]

I have long advocated that Sprint and T-mobile be allowed to merge their network operations of not merge outright. If they have to upgrade to 5G it will kill them both. They are deep in debt as it is.i can just imagine. While I as a consumer like cheap prices, as a network enthusiast, I like the carriers to make enough of a profit to be able to upgrade their networks regularly without going deep into debt. They just can't afford to wholesale upgrade their networks every 10 years.

[Ascertion]

I have long advocated that Sprint and T-mobile be allowed to merge their network operations of not merge outright. If they have to upgrade to 5G it will kill them both. They are deep in debt as it is.i can just imagine. While I as a consumer like cheap prices, as a network enthusiast, I like the carriers to make enough of a profit to be able to upgrade their networks regularly without going deep into debt. They just can't afford to wholesale upgrade their networks every 10 years.

Since 5G will not be set as a standard (just like 4G wasn't), I don't think Sprint/T-Mobile will suffer, as long as they continue upgrading their LTE networks to perform as well as its competitors '5G' networks.

[bigsnake49]

Since 5G will not be set as a standard (just like 4G wasn't), I don't think Sprint/T-Mobile will suffer, as long as they continue upgrading their LTE networks to perform as well as its competitors '5G' networks.

Oh they will feel the pressure!!! And with razor thin margins they cannot afford the caped when they will chose to upgrade.

[dnicekid]

I am still a firm believer that T-Mobile and Sprint should have been allowed to merge. The two combining would have been prepared to be the best LTE network in America, bar none. I would think this would have been the true merger of equals, folks.

 

Take the wideband LTE networks that T-Mobile has, deploy B41 on that macro grid, then add small cell expertise on SoftBank's end? Game over. The combined entity would have added so many sites that I don't even think that CDMA would have been needed. Essentially all that would have been need was to run UMTS and LTE with GSM tossed in for M2M. Aggregating TD and FD together and I believe the entity that combined would have placed a major hurt on AT&T and Verizon, even if B41 spectrum would have had to have been sold off at some point.

 

Sure some on here would worry about rural but with the economies of scale no one would care in the long run as Sprint rural sites were converted to Nokia or Ericsson UMTS/LTE. Just look at New York as an example. Put B41 in Salim's (the lead RF engineer in NY) hands... Just see what happens.

 

And Legere's antics benefitting us would change people's hearts and minds.

Very good points, but that's why it wasn't allowed... Att/vzw pump a lotta cash into dc all that choice stuff and price wars are garbage..

People stay with att/vzw for reliability and coverage- that's what they pay for. Sprint and Tmo have caused movement from the big 2 a little. If they merged and did the exact same stuff there would be a bigger response from the 2. There are strength in numbers. When sprint gets its numbers moving half the pace of what Tmo has been doing trust the big 2 will start paying attention

[WiWavelength]

The problem is that I don't see the real erosion of duopoly profit, even with VZW's Vodafone debt adventures and AT&T's DirecTV and Mexican adventures.

 

The Twin Bells and any erosion (or not) of their profits are irrelevant.  They are too big to fail -- they will be survivors.  But if the Legere regime keeps giving away the farm, forcing Sprint to respond, something eventually has to give.

• T-Mobile and Sprint will be driven into each other's arms.
• AT&T will succeed in a second crack at T-Mobile.
• An outsider will acquire T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile will continue its rise into a more competitive third position.
• Sprint will go bankrupt.

If the current climate persists, all of those are definite possibilities...

 

AJ

[Arysyn]

Since I don't want to make a really long post again, I won't go into detail about this. However, I've mentioned in other posts I've written how I think John Legere really hasn't been the benefit for the wireless industry and its customers that many people seem to think and give credit for. Most notably, prices have gone up across the board.

 

One mention I've seen written is that its made Sprint's prices lower. Then again, many people are still clinging to Sprint's old plans such as Framily and ED1500, just like how people cling to T-Mobile's old plans, along with AT&T and Verizon's customers clinging onto unlimited. It is a sign that things have not changed for the better in terms of price for customers. Any perceived benefit John Legere claims, is just a smokescreen.

[bucdenny]

"Call Continuity across Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G, and 2G"  Wondering if that is VoLTE handoff to CDMA?

 

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2015/09/14/qualcomm-announces-breakthrough-connectivity-features-snapdragon-820

[S4GRU]

"Call Continuity across Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G, and 2G" Wondering if that is VoLTE handoff to CDMA?

 

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2015/09/14/qualcomm-announces-breakthrough-connectivity-features-snapdragon-820

As nice as that would be, I interpret it to mean LTE/WiFi/WCDMA/GSM.

 

Using Tapatalk on BlackBerry Z30

[Johnner1999]

The Twin Bells and any erosion (or not) of their profits are irrelevant. They are too big to fail -- they will be survivors. But if the Legere regime keeps giving away the farm, forcing Sprint to respond, something eventually has to give.

• T-Mobile and Sprint will be driven into each other's arms.
• AT&T will succeed in a second crack at T-Mobile.
• An outsider will acquire T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile will continue its rise into a more competitive third position.
• Sprint will go bankrupt.

If the current climate persists, all of those are definite possibilities...

 

AJ

 

I don't think the Death Star can buy tmo even if allowed at the moment. Well I suppose some investment firm would lend.

 

I like your logic here though.

 

At least SoftBank is throw money into the pit with some logistical game.

 

 

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[Arysyn]

The Twin Bells and any erosion (or not) of their profits are irrelevant. They are too big to fail -- they will be survivors. But if the Legere regime keeps giving away the farm, forcing Sprint to respond, something eventually has to give.

• T-Mobile and Sprint will be driven into each other's arms.
• AT&T will succeed in a second crack at T-Mobile.
• An outsider will acquire T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile will continue its rise into a more competitive third position.
• Sprint will go bankrupt.

If the current climate persists, all of those are definite possibilities...

 

AJ

I'm hoping for either the first or second options to happen, though without any leadership role featuring John Legere, unless Marcelo or Randall need someone willing to distract the media away from them and to make sure they always have a spare wireless device with them, which John Legere can carry around, along with other important business stuff. Just so they don't make John Legere their bodyguard in trusting him with any sort of weapon. That could end up very, very bad!

 

Although, I can see it being easier for AT&T to get T-Mobile at this point, rather than Sprint getting T-Mobile, due to Sprint having a lot more spectrum than AT&T. Plus from a lot of what I've been reading, AT&T is starting to hurt pretty badly with their network quality in many areas. This could be the leverage AT&T could have in making a good case for a merger.

[dnicekid]

I'm hoping for either the first or second options to happen, though without any leadership role featuring John Legere, unless Marcelo or Randall need someone willing to distract the media away from them and to make sure they always have a spare wireless device with them, which John Legere can carry around, along with other important business stuff. Just so they don't make John Legere their bodyguard in trusting him with any sort of weapon. That could end up very, very bad!

 

Although, I can see it being easier for AT&T to get T-Mobile at this point, rather than Sprint getting T-Mobile, due to Sprint having a lot more spectrum than AT&T. Plus from a lot of what I've been reading, AT&T is starting to hurt pretty badly with their network quality in many areas. This could be the leverage AT&T could have in making a good case for a merger.

Att might have lobbyist to pull it off. However sprint would likely block it and win. Att /vzw can survive if sprint/Tmo join maybe they give up and trade some spectrum between them. But sprint cannot survive if att/Tmo merge it would likely force Verizon to buy them on the cheap. Which brings us to 2 superpowers

[Arysyn]

Att might have lobbyist to pull it off. However sprint would likely block it and win. Att /vzw can survive if sprint/Tmo join maybe they give up and trade some spectrum between them. But sprint cannot survive if att/Tmo merge it would likely force Verizon to buy them on the cheap. Which brings us to 2 superpowers

That is a good point you made.

 

I've thought about the possibility of Verizon gaining Sprint for many years as I kept hearing about the various mergers occurring throughout this time. I think it might become more possible for Verizon to merge with Sprint if AT&T were to acquire T-Mobile.

 

Thing is, I think this will be the case, with concessions the duopoly makes. Such as allowing larger MVNOs to utilize their networks, the duopoly can claim the extra competition based on losses to the MVNOs, as the duopoly doesn't get the full cut of the subscriber payments to the MVNOs, in contrast to direct subscription to the duopoly themselves.

[irev210]

And therein lies the rub.  Legere is the Pied Piper leading a march to the bottom.  If this handing out of candy keeps up, profit margins will become so slim that CAPEX will have to suffer, leading to industry consolidation down to three or even two national operators.  Legere is gambling on T-Mobile gaining enough groundswell to be one of the survivors or a merger target.

 

AJ

 

 

Every time you spell doom and gloom, you never cite any numbers.  Just like churn - you always said that Legere is gaining customers with marketing gimmicks and that churn will go up, yet that hasn't been the case either (churn is down in the 1.3x% from 1.5%+ over the previous years).

 

 

I'll just compare 2011/12/13/14 and current 12M through 6/30/15:

Revenue, Adj 4,847.4 5,101.3 24,420.0 29,564.0 31,461.0 Growth %, YoY 19.1 5.2 378.7 21.1 14.1 Gross Profit, Adj 1,934.0 2,171.2 12,165.0 14,155.0 15,338.0 Margin % 39.9 42.6 49.8 47.9 48.8 EBITDA, Adj 1,290.0 1,474.4 4,785.5 5,287.0 5,909.0 Margin % 26.6 28.9 19.6 17.9 18.8 Net Income, Adj 309.5 361.3 140.5 -128.7 486.9 Margin % 6.4 7.1 0.6 -0.4 1.5 EPS, Adj 1.69 1.96 0.21 -0.16 0.58 Growth %, YoY 19.9 16.3 -89.5 -- 80.5             Cash from Operations 1,061.8 1,181.5 3,545.0 4,146.0 4,067.0 Capital Expenditures -951.6 -817.2 -4,025.0 -4,317.0 -4,603.0 Free Cash Flow 110.2 364.2 -480.0 -171.0 -536.0

(eh, it wont let me paste in a table, sorry)

 

Cash from operations has increased 4x (from 1billion in 2011 to 4 billion for LTM) and they've invested in their network and are projecting free cash flow of 2.5 billion by 2016.

 

The numbers move in the opposite direction of what you claim.  They are becoming more profitable and generating more cash from operations, not less.  Please explain how they are racing to the bottom.  Again, they are increasing their cash from operations not lowering.  This totally goes against what you are saying.  I am utterly confused.

[irev210]

The Twin Bells and any erosion (or not) of their profits are irrelevant.  They are too big to fail -- they will be survivors.  But if the Legere regime keeps giving away the farm, forcing Sprint to respond, something eventually has to give.

• T-Mobile and Sprint will be driven into each other's arms.
• AT&T will succeed in a second crack at T-Mobile.
• An outsider will acquire T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile will continue its rise into a more competitive third position.
• Sprint will go bankrupt.

If the current climate persists, all of those are definite possibilities...

 

AJ

 

sorry for the double post.

 

• Sprint already tried to buy T-Mobile - I don't see that happening in the next 5 years
• Same as above - I don't see that happening in the next 5 years
• T-Mobile has already said that they are open to being acquired by an outsider.  I would not be surprised if it was Dish.
• Well, yes, that's what they are currently doing.
• That's unlikely - Softbank is very much invested in Sprint at this point.

 

In reality, you are citing scenarios that can apply to 99% of companies in competitive industries.

 

I definitely agree that the twin bells are too big to fail - however, I would not be surprised if you see their wireless gross margins get wacked over time.  Overall, as a wireless spectator, that's my dream.  I'd like to see normalized profit levels and see those billions be put back in the pockets of americans.

 

Given how technology driven this sector is, prices should continue to decline.  I was just thinking of the cost savings of moving software defined radios into the cloud.  I mean, at some point, it's just going to be antennas everywhere with essentially unlimited backhaul capacity over fiber.

 

 

 

Now we have 256QAM coming to mobile, 30+ LTE bands in a handset, etc.  Technology will continue to get cheaper and data costs should decrease as well.  I just can't fathom a world where you think T-Mobile is giving away the farm bringing in $4 billion in cash from operations over the past 12 months on 31.46 billion of revenue.

 

48.8% gross margins... 20% EBITDA margins... seems like all is well in magenta-land.

[Arysyn]

sorry for the double post.

 

• Sprint already tried to buy T-Mobile - I don't see that happening in the next 5 years
• Same as above - I don't see that happening in the next 5 years
• T-Mobile has already said that they are open to being acquired by an outsider. I would not be surprised if it was Dish.
• Well, yes, that's what they are currently doing.
• That's unlikely - Softbank is very much invested in Sprint at this point.

In reality, you are citing scenarios that can apply to 99% of companies in competitive industries.

 

I definitely agree that the twin bells are too big to fail - however, I would not be surprised if you see their wireless gross margins get wacked over time. Overall, as a wireless spectator, that's my dream. I'd like to see normalized profit levels and see those billions be put back in the pockets of americans.

 

Given how technology driven this sector is, prices should continue to decline. I was just thinking of the cost savings of moving software defined radios into the cloud. I mean, at some point, it's just going to be antennas everywhere with essentially unlimited backhaul capacity over fiber.

 

 

 

Now we have 256QAM coming to mobile, 30+ LTE bands in a handset, etc. Technology will continue to get cheaper and data costs should decrease as well. I just can't fathom a world where you think T-Mobile is giving away the farm bringing in $4 billion in cash from operations over the past 12 months on 31.46 billion of revenue.

 

48.8% gross margins... 20% EBITDA margins... seems like all is well in magenta-land.

I won't make any definitive assumptions of what AJ meant. However, my viewpoint of it, is in terms of T-Mobile having enough cashflow for future network development to be able to fully fund all of the new network technologies, as well as keeping up with its competitors' rate of progress, especially when its competitors are in much stronger financial shape and/or have much stronger financial backing, as DT doesn't seem all that much willing to properly fund T-Mobile for the major network expansions T-Mobile will keep on needing to do over time.

 

Just reading about John Legere's desperation in getting that extra 600mhz spectrum set aside for T-Mobile, really speaks volumes of T-Mobile's ability to fund its own needs. Otherwise, why else is he making such a big deal about it? That is something which irks many members here about him, which I fully agree with.

 

Although, it certainly goes beyond annoyance, as there is a clear image of his motives in this, which ought to bring contempt upon him. His manner of attacking people goes along with his methods of conducting business elsewise, that when a person looks at the whole situation, must realize T-Mobile is headed for trouble, at least while John Legere is there running things as he is.

[KD8JBF]

So...According to analysts, don't expect much on network deployment from Sprint (or AT&T for that matter) until 2016....

 

http://www.fierceinstaller.com/story/analysts-att-sprint-not-expected-ramp-network-spending-during-rest-2015/2015-09-14?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

 

 

Take it for what it's worth...

[jamisonshaw125]

So...According to analysts, don't expect much on network deployment from Sprint (or AT&T for that matter) until 2016....

 

http://www.fierceinstaller.com/story/analysts-att-sprint-not-expected-ramp-network-spending-during-rest-2015/2015-09-14?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

 

 

Take it for what it's worth...

I can wait 3 months.

[KD8JBF]

I can wait 3 months.

Waited all this time....3 months is nothin'...lol

[utiz4321]

Well I am disappointed. It seems to me Sprint could be falling into it's old pattern of delay which is never good.

[S4GRU]

They are continuing what they already planned for 2015.  They aren't pulling back.  But as far as the big NGN additional spending spree, that won't happen until 2016.  They are just now getting all their money in place, and planning finalized.  It's going to take that long to get started.  

 

Nothing surprising here at all.  What would be surprising is if they could get started with all that now.  That would be shocking.

[nick]

Well I am disappointed. It seems to me Sprint could be falling into it's old pattern of delay which is never good.

don't count them out yet, they have made seemingly impossible improvements over the past couple of years, who would have thought sprint would start taking  #1 network awards 2 years ago?  I would rather they get this build out right than rush it out, get half way and realize they could have deployed it in a more efficient manor.... kind of like when they make a tower in the middle of a corn field a full build, when the resources would have been better spent say downtown Chicago, or any where else with a better return on investment.     

[Steve Dean]

So...According to analysts, don't expect much on network deployment from Sprint (or AT&T for that matter) until 2016....

 

http://www.fierceinstaller.com/story/analysts-att-sprint-not-expected-ramp-network-spending-during-rest-2015/2015-09-14?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

 

 

Take it for what it's worth...

 

 

I read this a little differently.  For the most part, Sprint has already laid much of the groundwork.  As we have seen in 2014 and 2015, Sprint was upgrading sites at a frantic pace, hence the spending.  Granted, there are still problem areas that have not been upgraded but for the major majority, the upgrades are complete. 

 

I would think that the cost for the macro sites and small cell would be much less and therefore, less money needs to be spent.

 

Thoughts?