derrph Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I agree, t mobile coverage is not close to sprint coverage in rural PA or the entire state of WV The only map I look at when it comes to these carriers is Sensorly. The ones on their respective sites are overstated. I'm sure Sensorly is not 100% but it's more realistic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpark Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Rootmetrics.com got a makeover . Seems the trend is to do that "live action background" now on home pages... I see it PayPal too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Nuke Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Frankly I think Sprint should have at least one person per area (More in bigger markets) that their primary job is to drive around and test network performance and recommend improvements. Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk I have a strong suspicion they already get what you are proposing twice a year from RootMetrics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpark Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I have a strong suspicion they already get what you are proposing twice a year from RootMetrics. Yes... but they only get the RootMetrics results twice a year as far as I know... Publicly anyway. Maybe there's non-public data they receive more frequently. Using the Direct 2 You Cars (containing measurement gear) to augment this testing would be a smart play. The cars are already on the road, and the testing gear is essentially automated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThorson Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I thought with RootMetrics you could find recent tests that they did per city, such as if they tested my closest city of Seattle last week you could see that once they uploaded that test. Now it looks like you can only see when they upload everything per the 1st or 2nd half of the year. Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpark Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Marcelo just made another post about his "Listening Tour": Dispatches from the Road: My Listening Tour – Kansas City Also, he just Tweeted that he's making the rounds in Washington, DC: Happy to be at our Nation's Capital, Washington DC. @CTIA meetings,Government,store visits and meeting my colleagues 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnake49 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I thought with RootMetrics you could find recent tests that they did per city, such as if they tested my closest city of Seattle last week you could see that once they uploaded that test. Now it looks like you can only see when they upload everything per the 1st or 2nd half of the year. Am I missing something? I bet Root Metrics have a lot more detailed reports for the carriers. What you see published to the public are the summary reports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnake49 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) I had this issue in Pennsylvania. According to T-Mobile, LTE is active, but when I went to many of those locations with my lg g4 and nexus 6p, I had zero bars of service. So I left. I guarantee you that all carriers do that. OK, maybe not Verizon. I have first hand experience with AT&T traveling on I-10 from Florida to Sacramento last March and from Sacramento up to I-80 through Nevada, Utah and Wyoming to Cheyenne and down to Denver and then on 287 though Colorado and Texas. I-10 and I-80 are major east-west arteries and to have no coverage on one of the Big 2 for hundreds of miles is shameful. Edited February 9, 2016 by bigsnake49 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThorson Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I bet Root Metrics have a lot more detailed reports for the carriers. What you see published to the public are the summary reports. I'm not wondering about the carriers though. Before they would update their reports per city and then you can see the status of that one city. Now it looks like they don't do that, or as you say are just summary reports. Only reason I mentioned it is because I've bet they've tested cities so far in 2016 but we as consumers don't see them anymore. But oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Nuke Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yes... but they only get the RootMetrics results twice a year as far as I know... Publicly anyway. Maybe there's non-public data they receive more frequently. It depends what type of analysis you are seeking. I responded to jreuschl's post saying Sprint should be drive testing large markets to "test network performance and recommend improvements." If that is the goal, Root's biannual testing is likely sufficient for both purposes. There is going to be a huge diminishing return in doing it more often than that. And if for some reason you want data in between those 6 month windows you can either do it internally or contract RootMetrics to retest. Using the Direct 2 You Cars (containing measurement gear) to augment this testing would be a smart play. The cars are already on the road, and the testing gear is essentially automated. This was brought up months ago here and I thought it was a good idea, but it is also a heck of a lot more complicated than this. Who is going to analyze the data? Is it going to give them anything more meaningful than what their NV equipment diagnostics or customer feedback be it sprint zone, twitter, phone, and chat is already giving them? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Nuke Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Am I missing something? The fact that they've historically lagged in reporting at the beginning of reporting periods. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpark Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 It depends what type of analysis you are seeking. I responded to jreuschl's post saying Sprint should be drive testing large markets to "test network performance and recommend improvements." If that is the goal, Root's biannual testing is likely sufficient for both purposes. There is going to be a huge diminishing return in doing it more often than that. And if for some reason you want data in between those 6 month windows you can either do it internally or contract RootMetrics to retest. This was brought up months ago here and I thought it was a good idea, but it is also a heck of a lot more complicated than this. Who is going to analyze the data? Is it going to give them anything more meaningful than what their NV equipment diagnostics or customer feedback be it sprint zone, twitter, phone, and chat is already giving them? I'm thinking of the infamous "Can you hear me now" guy from Verizon... Seems like it would also be useful on Sprint. Drive testing with Direct 2 You cars ensures service is solid where new customers are and can improve retention/reduce churn. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosefTor Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I take it no one was paying attention to Sprint on Twitter when they mentioned, that they would rather take the 5 million that it cost for a 30 second commercial on the Super Bowl and use it for the network, they have been on Twitter firing shots the whole time. Sent from my LGLS996 using Tapatalk Although I like the thought of spending more money on their network, smart and effective advertising should never be chopped for any reason because without advertising, you will lose your business. It is dangerous if people get it into their heads that advertising is not something sprint can afford. Look at Tmobile for instance which it's success can be largely attributed to a marketing stunt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpark Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Although I like the thought of spending more money on their network, smart and effective advertising should never be chopped for any reason because without advertising, you will lose your business. It is dangerous if people get it into their heads that advertising is not something sprint can afford. Look at Tmobile for instance which it's success can be largely attributed to a marketing stunt. You don't have to advertise on TV during the Super Bowl to make a big splash. Just ask Oreo, which did it with a Tweet. Sprint was smart to save its money on this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascertion Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 When does Verizon's roaming agreement with Sprint end? I'm curious about what Sprint will do as it gets closer to the deadline. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosefTor Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 You don't have to advertise on TV during the Super Bowl to make a big splash. Just ask Oreo, which did it with a Tweet. Sprint was smart to save its money on this. Completely agree on this. I just got the feeling sprint and some of the users here don't value advertising and consider it just another cost to get rid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffDTD Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Who joins sprint because of a superbowl commercial? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascertion Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Who joins sprint because of a superbowl commercial? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I think it's more of "We need to get customers talking about us." It ultimately leads to customers joining. I know a lot of people in my family were considering T-Mobile after seeing the commercial because it emphasizes T-Mobile's network upgrades that's occurred in the last year. The main goal is to change customer perception. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMrFamous07 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Yes the Super Bowl is good platform for advertising however you're not guarantee positive results from it. For example Missy Elliot collaborated with Amazon to preview her new song for Amazon's SB commercial however the song is no where on the sales charts (iTunes or google play) Not the best example but I'm glad sprint is investing their $3 million dollars into small cells and network maintenance. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAvirani Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 When does Verizon's roaming agreement with Sprint end? I'm curious about what Sprint will do as it gets closer to the deadline. It seems that no one knows I've tried asking twice already lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffDTD Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I think it's more of "We need to get customers talking about us." It ultimately leads to customers joining. I know a lot of people in my family were considering T-Mobile after seeing the commercial because it emphasizes T-Mobile's network upgrades that's occurred in the last year. The main goal is to change customer perception. Would be interesting to chart prior growth trends in the 30-60 day window after prior superbowls when Sprint advertised. Sprint has been selling the "Our new network" message for years with varying degrees of success. Its now a message answered commonly with cynicism. Tmobile's advertising is more or less confirming an idea and message about the company that is already synonymous with word of mouth, regardless of reality. Sprint's word of mouth isnt there... Yet. Slowly but surely. I would rather see big marketing dollars spent on local advertising in markets where the network is functioning best and sprint has substantial coverage depth. Those are places where your reach is more likely to be met with positive word of mouth Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laqn1283 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 It seems that no one knows I've tried asking twice already lol I think sprint is trying to get out of verizon roaming agreement. it was mentioned that it will cost 1 billion up front to reduce annual cost of 2.5 billion. So far, labor reduction cost 150 to 200 million. So the i guess a lot of the 1 billion is for breaking the verizon roaming agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utiz4321 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I think sprint is trying to get out of verizon roaming agreement. it was mentioned that it will cost 1 billion up front to reduce annual cost of 2.5 billion. So far, labor reduction cost 150 to 200 million. So the i guess a lot of the 1 billion is for breaking the verizon roaming agreement.I just can't see that. Look at the coverage map they use on all of their broachers, their coverage map on the web site. It includes the roam area with vzw until you drill down to smaller geographical area. I just don't see them want to have a map that shows only their coverage map. Plus all of the talk has been about reducing roaming cost by building out in high roaming areas. This makes much more sense, as if sprint wants to continue to be a first tier carrier they need to have some kind of national network to offer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I think sprint is trying to get out of verizon roaming agreement. it was mentioned that it will cost 1 billion up front to reduce annual cost of 2.5 billion. So far, labor reduction cost 150 to 200 million. So the i guess a lot of the 1 billion is for breaking the verizon roaming agreement. I think in-market roaming is a bit rediculous. They need to reassess where they truly need it and do away with most in market roaming. The network has matured enough that I have not seen 1x roaming in quite a long time. It's fair to say that 1x800 has covered that footprint well if not better than Verizon's voice. Data might still be usable in some parts. But honestly don't think it's worth the insane cost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpark Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 When does Verizon's roaming agreement with Sprint end? I'm curious about what Sprint will do as it gets closer to the deadline. Great question... Not sure, but we do know Marcelo isn't happy with how much he has to pay Verizon for roaming. Hence his move to secure numerous LTE Roaming Deals with rural carriers. See this article: Sprint CEO: Without Net neutrality rules, we're toast "I can't disclose how much I pay for roaming," he said. "But it's insane." He suggested that a combination of having the new Net neutrality rules in place to keep AT&T and Verizon in check, plus new business agreements that Sprint announced last year with rural wireless carriers throughout the country could help the company fill out its coverage in order to compete with the two largest national carriers. "I don't like writing checks for hundreds of millions of dollars to my two biggest competitors," he said. "I'd rather write those checks to rural carriers." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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