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

[centermedic]

I was just reading this article on Fiercewireless:

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-hopes-secure-much-5b-mortgaging-spectrum-and-network-gear/2016-03-02

 

And it made it sound pretty bad about the financial condition of Sprint having to borrow against itself?? Kind of confusing with how they are moving the debt around but nonetheless was concerned and wanted some feedback from the experts here just as I'm about to port over 2 lines over to Sprint next Friday 11th when the S7 Edge releases.

 

Is there any concern about Sprint not being able to pay it's debt payments coming due and having to liquidate spectrum (2500 Mhz) saying that their treasure trove of 2500 is worth 115 Billion!!?? to stay afloat?

Ok, if I am reading this correctly, Softbank is hedging its bets. If they fund Sprint and it folds, Softbank loses it investment. However, by setting up a subsidiary and loaning money to Sprint in return for collateral they are essentially making a secured loan. On the flip side, this may be helpful to Sprint also if the loans carry a significantly lower interest rate than their current debt. Eventually, they may be able to refinance that debt. Also of note, Japan currently has a negative interest rate for funds held by the central bank. This is to encourage banks to lend money rather than hoarding it. This set up may have also fueled this action by Softbank.

Then again, I could be totally off base 

[MileHI38]

Makes sense kinda of lol...... Anyhow I was just concerned when I saw that they are carrying $30 Billion in debt and 2.5 Billion is starting to come due!

 

Man I hope Sprint doesn't go under like Sears, Dish Network etc..... seem to be going towards? I want Sprint to succeed and be a healthy alternative for wireless consumers for many years to come

[centermedic]

$30 billion of debt with a market cap of $15 billion is not the end of the world, especially if  Sprint turns profitable. Again the 2.5 billion due this year is not an issue if Sprint turns a profit. However, the $10 billion due in 2020 can be an issue if it cannot be refinanced or properly planned for. At this point, I have enough confidence that I continue to buy Sprint stock.

[Arysyn]

Perhaps it would help Sprint if Softbank actually became a bank.

[centermedic]

Perhaps it would help Sprint if Softbank actually became a bank.

Oh, I am sure the accountants, lawyers and actuaries have their reasons.

[JimBob]

I was just reading this article on Fiercewireless:

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-hopes-secure-much-5b-mortgaging-spectrum-and-network-gear/2016-03-02

 

And it made it sound pretty bad about the financial condition of Sprint having to borrow against itself?? Kind of confusing with how they are moving the debt around but nonetheless was concerned and wanted some feedback from the experts here just as I'm about to port over 2 lines over to Sprint next Friday 11th when the S7 Edge releases.

 

Is there any concern about Sprint not being able to pay it's debt payments coming due and having to liquidate spectrum (2500 Mhz) saying that their treasure trove of 2500 is worth 115 Billion!!?? to stay afloat?

The new credit facility is good news!  Bankruptcy happens when a company runs out of cash to pay its daily bills and big loans coming due.  (Cash flow and cash position are key metrics that investors evaluate.)  The previous worry was that nobody was willing to keep giving Sprint money that they may never pay back. (No profit since 2006.)

 

As demonstrated, Softbank is an actual somebody that will keep feeding Sprint cash to live another day by whatever creative means necessary.  Thus, Sprint's stock has now risen from $2 to $3.

[Arysyn]

Oh, I am sure the accountants, lawyers and actuaries have their reasons.

 

Several months ago, I had a discussion with others here on S4GRU about the renaming possibilities of Sprint, which included the idea of Softbank U.S., etc. The idea didn't sound good to some, because of how banks don't have a generally positive image here, which I agree with that thought. Yet since then, these media sources have continued to claim such horrors about Sprint's financial status, even while Sprint has made many efforts to improve this aspect. Meanwhile, Sprint needs more money to finance continued network improvements they get targeted for a bad network reputation.

 

I think it is unfair how Sprint is being put in this situation by the media, so any creative usage of what they do have in fighting this, should be useful for them. I'm glad to be hearing about some of those actions they are taking here on this site.

[JimBob]

Perhaps it would help Sprint if Softbank actually became a bank.

Banking/finance are already parts of Softbank's business.  Sprint is being helped by this.  That's the point of the news article.

[MileHI38]

The new credit facility is good news!  Bankruptcy happens when a company runs out of cash to pay its daily bills and big loans coming due.  (Cash flow and cash position are key metrics that investors evaluate.)  The previous worry was that nobody was willing to keep giving Sprint money that they may never pay back. (No profit since 2006.)

 

As demonstrated, Softbank is an actual somebody that will keep feeding Sprint cash to live another day by whatever creative means necessary.  Thus, Sprint's stock has now risen from $2 to $3.

Didn't realize Sprint hasn't been profitable since 2006!! Yikes But I'm glad the stock has went up to $3

[Arysyn]

Banking/finance are already parts of Softbank's business.  Sprint is being helped by this.  That's the point of the news article.

 

I knew they were doing some banking activity, just not to the extent the article made clear. I'm glad to hear they are coming up with these creative ideas to help Sprint, along with of course the spectrum actions Sprint has been doing lately too.

[Johnner1999]

I take it as SoftBank is currently an investor of Sprint. Which has rewards and risk involved. This new holding company will technically be a creditor of Sprint. So if Sprint goes belly up - SoftBank gets some relief. In turn this helps stabilize the rift back in Japan.

 

Also helps Sprint show ability to purchase new capital expenditures

 

 

At least that's what I read it as.

 

 

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[bigsnake49]

The new credit facility is good news!  Bankruptcy happens when a company runs out of cash to pay its daily bills and big loans coming due.  (Cash flow and cash position are key metrics that investors evaluate.)  The previous worry was that nobody was willing to keep giving Sprint money that they may never pay back. (No profit since 2006.)

 

As demonstrated, Softbank is an actual somebody that will keep feeding Sprint cash to live another day by whatever creative means necessary.  Thus, Sprint's stock has now risen from $2 to $3.

 

 

SoftBank has not been feeding cash to Sprint at all. They have allowed them to borrow money. Contrast that with DT which forgave about $5B of the combined T-Mobile/Metro company debt.

Edited March 3, 2016 by bigsnake49

[Steve Dean]

Sprint stock is over $4.00 currently...

[JimBob]

SoftBank has not been feeding cash to Sprint at all. They have allowed them to borrow money. Contrast that with DT which forgave about $5B of the combined T-Mobile/Metro company debt.

Cash is cash. Cash is king. Cash can be from debt. Cash can be from income (operations).  But ultimately, you need cash to keep the lights on everyday.  Without cash, you must immediately close down or declare bankruptcy.  Thus, cash flow and cash position are key metrics that business managers and investors evaluate.

 

Look no further than your wallet for how physical or digital cash is given to the cashier (mandatory) so you can buy stuff or get services.

[bigsnake49]

Cash is cash. Cash is king. Cash can be from debt. Cash can be from income (operations).  But ultimately, you need cash to keep the lights on everyday.  Without cash, you must immediately close down or declare bankruptcy.  Thus, cash flow and cash position are key metrics that business managers and investors evaluate.

 

Look no further than your wallet for how physical or digital cash is given to the cashier (mandatory) so you can buy stuff or get services.

 

Yeah, but one forgave debt so that T-Mobile can borrow more.

[centermedic]

Wait. So how much of the $30 billion in debt is owed to Softbank?

[bigsnake49]

Wait. So how much of the $30 billion in debt is owed to Softbank?

 

I don't think they owe SoftBank any money. It's owed to banks and SoftBank is the guarantor.

[imex99]

Does Sprint have any sort of deadline for 800Mhz buildout? It seems so unreasonable to have nationwide 14mhz and still be behind one of the four carriers in terms of coverage. I know PCS G block deadline is coming up for Montana (hence why Cedar is making progress now.) I am curious if there's any sort of geographic requirements in the SMR spectrum.

 

That being said, I am glad Sprint is making efforts to allocate more usable spectrum in the PCS range. Some markets that are waiting for Nokia equipment should benefit greatly from the increase to 10x10 or 15x15 on B25.

Agreed, from the Columbus market and no 800 lte on the northern portion of the market and four 3g GMOs within 15 minutes of my house...

 

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[Trip]

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160304005430/en/Sprint-Beats-T-Mobile-Network-Reliability-Chattanooga-Knoxville

 

Not sure if this is new.  I think it is.

 

- Trip

[RedSpark]

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160304005430/en/Sprint-Beats-T-Mobile-Network-Reliability-Chattanooga-Knoxville

 

Not sure if this is new.  I think it is.

 

- Trip

 

Interesting that this is Nielsen reporting this... Not RootMetrics.

[reedacus25]

You can't compare it to T-Mobile who's adding 700A on their legacy sites and calling it expansion.

Just to clarify, there is expansion happening, on both the 700 spectrum, as well as non 700 spectrum, mostly in Roam Over Build areas. Mostly dictated by if 700 is available to deploy on.

 

So while T-Mobile is expanding some of their footprint filling in some gaps and moving the boundary of the edge of service with L700, there is a ton of expansion in non-overlay projects as well.

 

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Edited March 6, 2016 by reedacus25

[JWMaloney]

Just to clarify, there is expansion happening, on both the 700 spectrum, as well as non 700 spectrum, mostly in Roam Over Build areas. Mostly dictated by if 700 is available to deploy on.

 

So while T-Mobile is expanding some of their footprint filling in some gaps and moving the boundary of the edge of service with L700, there is a ton of expansion in non-overlay projects as well.

 

This is also the reason that Legere is so vocal about VoLTE being disabled during RootMetrics testing. It wouldn't make such a huge difference if they were simply overlaying L700 where they already had E1900.

[EvanA]

This is also the reason that Legere is so vocal about VoLTE being disabled during RootMetrics testing. It wouldn't make such a huge difference if they were simply overlaying L700 where they already had E1900.

With VoLTE now being tested by RootMetrics I suppose they'll just go back to their claim of RootMetrics being bought out by Verizon and publishing outdated results.

[transitwatch889]

So softbank is splitting into two companies one for is Japanese operations and another for its international subsidiaries.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/03/07/sprint-owner-softbank-splits-into-two-companies/81428468/

[Johnner1999]

So softbank is splitting into two companies one for is Japanese operations and another for its international subsidiaries.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/03/07/sprint-owner-softbank-splits-into-two-companies/81428468/

That should help prove that SoftBank isn't pulling out of sprint. At least not via logic.

 

 

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