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

[Fraydog]

This is very good news!

 

I wonder if his replacement will be more likely to reinstate some form of high-speed Unlimited Data, then when the tech media asks why the change of mind when Verizon supposedly was so against it under the leadership of Shammo, they can respond saying that was a different time, or was only the opinion of that person (meaning Shammo), and that Verizon never really was against the idea. It'll be interesting...

 

 

I wouldn't have projected AT&T to re add it with DirecTV, but I don't see it for Verizon as much.

 

1. Backsliding on the promise to not to unlimited data goes against their whole deal where they whine and complain about being spectrum deprived. This coming from the carrier with NATIONWIDE 750 MHz and 20x20 LTE most places nationwide as well. Verizon has the best conventional spectrum position. Well, they do before Sprint 3x20 carrier aggregation gets tossed in. 

2. They then contradict that position when they say that infrastructure is better than spectrum anyway, citing their small cell development. With that small cell development... couldn't they go to prioritized unlimited?

3. T-Mobile has 20x20 in fewer places and low band fully deployed in less and still beats them for fastest network. 

 

All things considered... a 26 GB cap prioritized probably makes Verizon more money in the long run. It also cripples T-Mobile and Sprint. I just don't see it because Verizon isn't into making short term sacrifices on dividends and earnings. 

 

Also, Shammo's successor is Matt Walsh, who engineered the Vodafone buyout. 

[caspar347]

Hopefully they finally get around to upgrading the remaining 3G sites nationwide.

I think I said it in another thread, but if they can eliminate handoff issues, any LTE is better than none at this point. Even if it's SISO that's still ~18mbps vs 2mbps on EVDO. It made sense to GMO sites back when Sprint thought they'd actually be able to go back and fix them, but it's clear they don't have the resources required at the moment.

[avb]

 

3. T-Mobile has 20x20 in fewer places and low band fully deployed in less and still beats them for fastest network. 

 

 

PCMag's Fastest Mobile Network and RootMetrics both have Verizon as fastest.  Ookla has T-Mobile edging out Verizon but that's with T-Mobile doing everything they can to look good with Ookla tests:

 

Put in their own servers for T-Mobile users - sometimes changing to a faster server gives you better results

 

Whitelisting Speedtest app - people that have used up their data allotment still get full speeds when testing, while that's not true with other carriers.

 

Zero rating Speedtest app - someone that has limited data on another carrier's plan isn't going to run speedtests everywhere they can to see if they can get 100+Mbps results because that's a huge waste of data.  More than likely they'll only run it when data isn't loading to see if there's an issue.  No going around NY rooftops at midnight right and testing right beside a panel to see what a network is capable of.

[Johnner1999]

PCMag's Fastest Mobile Network and RootMetrics both have Verizon as fastest. Ookla has T-Mobile edging out Verizon but that's with T-Mobile doing everything they can to look good with Ookla tests:

 

Put in their own servers for T-Mobile users - sometimes changing to a faster server gives you better results

 

Whitelisting Speedtest app - people that have used up their data allotment still get full speeds when testing, while that's not true with other carriers.

 

Zero rating Speedtest app - someone that has limited data on another carrier's plan isn't going to run speedtests everywhere they can to see if they can get 100+Mbps results because that's a huge waste of data. More than likely they'll only run it when data isn't loading to see if there's an issue. No going around NY rooftops at midnight right and testing right beside a panel to see what a network is capable of.

 

I'd like to insert the scene from Ferris Bueller Day off. When Ferris insults Cameron's car as a pos. But then states it's better than his non existent car.

 

I'd say Sprint is Cameron's car in this scenario

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[payturr]

I use Tidal on HiFi with zero issues on Sprint.

Damn, that's what I call a twist ending!

[chamb]

End of discussion.

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Hooray.  END of DISCUSSION.   I hope everybody can agree on this. This discussion was OLD a few days ago.

[Arysyn]

I have to be honest here. This is the most absurd conversation on audio I have ever read. I own studio equipment and use AKG headphones and I am going to tell you this. The average person can't tell the difference between Mp3 320 and FLAC and the average Audiophile doesn't stream music. We (audiophiles) love music, we take our FLAC files and put them on our phones. Also most of us don't expect the same level of quality of sound from our phones. This is why phones that focus on audio sell so poorly even to audiophiles. There simply is no way to have the same quality of audio in a portable device as one would have with professional level audio systems. I am never going to expect a portable device to power a 300 ohm pair of headphones nor do I think semiopen back headphones are going to be practical for public spaces. With all of this in mind I don't think sprint is going to have a bunch of angry audiophiles on it's hands. End of discussion.

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

Everyone has their own opinions and preferences. I can't speak for everyone, nor do I expect any one individual to do so. However, from reading websites such as Head-Fi and others, there are many people very interested in HiFi audio on smartphones. Otherwise, companies such as ESS would not be contracted to make such amps/dacs for smartphones as the LG V10/20 and so on as I mentioned previously.

 

I respect that it seems many members here on S4GRU don't care so much about HiFi audio or just not so much on smartphones, but again it doesn't mean that this site or any site for that matter necessarily speaks for everyone, even those audio enthusiast sites such as Head-Fi where if I were to go on there and say the seemingly majority opinion over here of HiFi audio not being important on smartphones, etc., many people there would denounce that. Still that doesn't make it speak for everyone on the matter

[Arysyn]

I wouldn't have projected AT&T to re add it with DirecTV, but I don't see it for Verizon as much.

 

1. Backsliding on the promise to not to unlimited data goes against their whole deal where they whine and complain about being spectrum deprived. This coming from the carrier with NATIONWIDE 750 MHz and 20x20 LTE most places nationwide as well. Verizon has the best conventional spectrum position. Well, they do before Sprint 3x20 carrier aggregation gets tossed in. 

2. They then contradict that position when they say that infrastructure is better than spectrum anyway, citing their small cell development. With that small cell development... couldn't they go to prioritized unlimited?

3. T-Mobile has 20x20 in fewer places and low band fully deployed in less and still beats them for fastest network. 

 

All things considered... a 26 GB cap prioritized probably makes Verizon more money in the long run. It also cripples T-Mobile and Sprint. I just don't see it because Verizon isn't into making short term sacrifices on dividends and earnings. 

 

Also, Shammo's successor is Matt Walsh, who engineered the Vodafone buyout. 

 

I'm very curious if Verizon is going to take a different direction on the Unlimited Data issue than they have in the past. I already find it awkward Shammo as left Verizon so soon after Verizon introduced the safety feature.

 

Shammo was so extremely against Unlimited Data whenever the issue was mentioned to him in interviews, that I can imagine his dissatisfaction whenever the talks occurred during board meetings of this safety feature. Views that seem so contrary to the trend of carriers nowadays, which Verizon despite all of its network claims, still cannot completely ignore.

 

His replacement needs to realize these trends and not be so dismissive of them as Shammo, or else Verizon may lose traction along the way.

[JustinRP37]

Everyone has their own opinions and preferences. I can't speak for everyone, nor do I expect any one individual to do so. However, from reading websites such as Head-Fi and others, there are many people very interested in HiFi audio on smartphones. Otherwise, companies such as ESS would not be contracted to make such amps/dacs for smartphones as the LG V10/20 and so on as I mentioned previously.

 

I respect that it seems many members here on S4GRU don't care so much about HiFi audio or just not so much on smartphones, but again it doesn't mean that this site or any site for that matter necessarily speaks for everyone, even those audio enthusiast sites such as Head-Fi where if I were to go on there and say the seemingly majority opinion over here of HiFi audio not being important on smartphones, etc., many people there would denounce that. Still that doesn't make it speak for everyone on the matter

The problem is not HiFi, it is your incessant complaining about the new Sprint plan because of limits on audio. You get into these patterns where you just complain and complain about the same thing. The Sprint limits are even not bad for HiFi. You have been told this repeatedly over the last few pages. If you need better quality pay the $20 more per month, after all these HiFi people can afford the greatest headphones, so they should be able to afford the $20. Also, if you are trying to convince me that a smartphone is going to give you HiFi sound through it's speakers, well then I have a bridge to sell you. You just simply cannot and will not get studio quality sound through ANY smartphone speaker currently or even in the future. You just cannot get the depth of sound from tiny speakers. Furthermore, NOBODY on here said we do not care about HiFi sound. Many of us do. You are make a ridiculous argument that people will complain about the new plans because of the audio limiting, which you have repeatedly been told that will not be the case. So just let it go. End of discussion.

[S4GRU]

Thanks for all the different scenarios discussed here regarding audio streaming on Sprint. I think it's been well covered here from every perspective. It's now time to move on.

 

I really appreciate all the great discussion on the topic. Anyone who wants to be well versed on the pros and cons could read through this thread and well understand both sides. Good job.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

[payturr]

Now it's time to talk about the limits on gaming.

/s let's NOT.

[Arysyn]

The problem is not HiFi, it is your incessant complaining about the new Sprint plan because of limits on audio. You get into these patterns where you just complain and complain about the same thing. The Sprint limits are even not bad for HiFi. You have been told this repeatedly over the last few pages. If you need better quality pay the $20 more per month, after all these HiFi people can afford the greatest headphones, so they should be able to afford the $20. Also, if you are trying to convince me that a smartphone is going to give you HiFi sound through it's speakers, well then I have a bridge to sell you. You just simply cannot and will not get studio quality sound through ANY smartphone speaker currently or even in the future. You just cannot get the depth of sound from tiny speakers. Furthermore, NOBODY on here said we do not care about HiFi sound. Many of us do. You are make a ridiculous argument that people will complain about the new plans because of the audio limiting, which you have repeatedly been told that will not be the case. So just let it go. End of discussion.

 

FYI, I wasn't at all referring to speakers, I was referring to headphones, hence my mentions of the Head-Fi site. Besides, I did drop the issue regarding Sprint some time ago when I closed that discussion from my point of view that I think it'll be changed. No one responded to that, as there was no need to. Since then, I've only been discussing the elements of audio, which Robert pointed out was a good discussion. I wasn't debating/arguing, nor did I take most others here of doing so. Also notice it wasn't the only discussion here I've been focused on either, such as the AT&T discussions, band 41, and now Verizon. Which with that, I'll add a response to lordsutch ... 

 

Hopefully they finally get around to upgrading the remaining 3G sites nationwide.

 

This is very important, along with the band 41 upgrades discussed awhile ago in this thread, where quite a few here were mentioning complete dead zones in areas they travel, something even worse than 3G, obviously.

 

I realize Sprint most likely will never release this information, but I'm curious as to how many of their customers are on sub-$45 monthly rate plans. I've known about SERO and the Employee Referring Customers plans for some years, but just today discovered when reading Reddit, that Sprint has a $40 monthly Unlimited Advantage Plan, which also gives a $15 monthly discount on monthly lease and EIP. This even goes cheaper than I'm even willing to support, and I wonder if there are enough of these rate plans in existence, or similar from the past people are on that could be contributing to Sprint's financial issues, which is from what I've read online, hurting Sprint and possibly delaying them from doing necessary upgrades.

[Johnner1999]

Thanks for all the different scenarios discussed here regarding audio streaming on Sprint. I think it's been well covered here from every perspective. It's now time to move on.

 

I really appreciate all the great discussion on the topic. Anyone who wants to be well versed on the pros and cons could read through this thread and well understand both sides. Good job.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

SO SAY WE ALL

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Steve Dean]

Well let see where this goes... I had to visit my local Walmart yesterday to pick up a new wifi router due to lightning. While there, I was reviewing some information on my phone. The store representative walked up and started asking be about my service. There are several things he said that we're crap.

 

1. You should switch to Verizon, they now have a 5G network. I explained to him that they do not. They have upgraded to 2CA on their 4G network and that it would be several years before 5G would even be ready for public use. His response, "5g is LTE Advanced". Sorry, no it is not.

 

2. VZW is really fast... Asked him to prove it. He did not know about speedtest. Had him download it. Sprint was faster, by a long way. (Sprint's tower is right across the street )

 

3. He started quoting phone prices on lease plans. We can get you a 16GB iPhone 6s for $20 a month amd a 64 for an additional 10 a month. I explained to him that I have a 128 GB iPhone and I go to apple and purchase my phones. "Why would you do that when you can lease?"

 

That pretty much ended the conversation.

[derrph]

Well let see where this goes... I had to visit my local Walmart yesterday to pick up a new wifi router due to lightning. While there, I was reviewing some information on my phone. The store representative walked up and started asking be about my service. There are several things he said that we're crap.

 

1. You should switch to Verizon, they now have a 5G network. I explained to him that they do not. They have upgraded to 2CA on their 4G network and that it would be several years before 5G would even be ready for public use. His response, "5g is LTE Advanced". Sorry, no it is not.

 

2. VZW is really fast... Asked him to prove it. He did not know about speedtest. Had him download it. Sprint was faster, by a long way. (Sprint's tower is right across the street )

 

3. He started quoting phone prices on lease plans. We can get you a 16GB iPhone 6s for $20 a month amd a 64 for an additional 10 a month. I explained to him that I have a 128 GB iPhone and I go to apple and purchase my phones. "Why would you do that when you can lease?"

 

That pretty much ended the conversation.

I take them with a grain of salt. Half the time they don't know what they are talking about and just want to make a sale. Best Buy on the other hand, have people strictly just for mobile and are more knowledgeable on the services. Not saying there are reps at BB Mobile who don't know and are just trying to make a sale but I'll trust them over Walmart as a whole.

 

Walmart have great sales on devices. But just like anyone else electronic in there. You have to do your own research and not rely on the sales person for expertise on a product.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6s+ using Tapatalk

[payturr]

...

 

That pretty much ended the conversation.

Don't tease the average retail employee, Steve! They know not what they do!

[Johnner1999]

I take them with a grain of salt. Half the time they don't know what they are talking about and just want to make a sale. Best Buy on the other hand, have people strictly just for mobile and are more knowledgeable on the services. Not saying there are reps at BB Mobile who don't know and are just trying to make a sale but I'll trust them over Walmart as a whole.

 

Walmart have great sales on devices. But just like anyone else electronic in there. You have to do your own research and not rely on the sales person for expertise on a product.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6s+ using Tapatalk

 

I've found BB to be heavily aligned with AT& or VZW pending the spiff that period. Can't blame them but still.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Deval]

People do care about audio. There are two very large audio enthusiast forums online with thousands of members very passionate about audio, particularly HiFi audio through headphones :

 

http://www.head-fi.org/

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php

 

Basically what I'm saying is people who do want HiFi audio, which I'll agree isn't the majority, but they are growing. This combined with there being more advanced audio HiFi-capable smartphones will want enough speed to stream HiFi audio to these smartphones.

 

Regarding the LG V20, I'm not sure if it will or won't be available for Sprint, only saying if it is, then people will want streaming speeds capable for HiFi using Sprint, at least those customers interested in it. Again, may not be a whole lot now, but eventually quite possibly.

 

On average there are at least 20-30 mid-tier to high-tier phones out on the market today, how many support HiFi audio? Out of those, how many are actually purchased by those thousands of members.

 

If I were to sample that forum for what devices they own, what percentage would actually own a HiFi phone? I'd wager very low.

 

And for those folks, the $80 Unlimited Freedom Premium works perfect.

[Deval]

Back on track.

 

I've been asking around and even some of my existing family members on Sprint are looking at the new Freedom plans as viable options. A few of them are on older plans which have device access charges, so these actually make some sense for them.

 

The hotspot is particularly attractive for them because they have kids with iPads.

[Arysyn]

On average there are at least 20-30 mid-tier to high-tier phones out on the market today, how many support HiFi audio? Out of those, how many are actually purchased by those thousands of members.

 

If I were to sample that forum for what devices they own, what percentage would actually own a HiFi phone? I'd wager very low.

 

And for those folks, the $80 Unlimited Freedom Premium works perfect.

 

I've stated in a few of my posts here that I really can't say the numbers, but its more than 1% mentioned a while back. There are more devices being released with these audio capabilities though, so as I've said its a growing market, though certainly not on the level of importance to people such as camera, basing from what I've read online. Sadly, some people online have made comments about how display doesn't matter, and not in a sense of for them, but in general. Display quality is very important, and even I'd say is more important than audio, despite audio being more important to me than camera is. Again though, these differ by the user in what they want, though I'd still say audio is a growing importance to people from what I see posted/discussed online.

 

For instance, I remember back when I had a discussion with people here on S4GRU about 4k displays, many saying it doesn't matter to them, some saying its a waste for a smartphone, and a few who at least agreed its important for VR. I read similar sentiments on other sites to those here regarding VR, yet as VR has become more important, there are a growing number of people accepting 4k and wanting it for their smartphone, likely due to the growing market of VR headsets that work with smartphones.

 

I'd argue though that while 4k is important to a degree, if its going to be in smartphones, it needs to have a battery good enough to handle it. My opinion is at least 5000mah for it. 

[Arysyn]

I've found BB to be heavily aligned with AT& or VZW pending the spiff that period. Can't blame them but still.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I went into Best Buy the other day, as I'm still without a smartphone for my AT&T plan. The lady there who was present seemed very oblivious to her job. I can't say Best Buy has improved much with service, despite having more presentable product displays.

[Deval]

I've stated in a few of my posts here that I really can't say the numbers, but its more than 1% mentioned a while back. There are more devices being released with these audio capabilities though, so as I've said its a growing market, though certainly not on the level of importance to people such as camera, basing from what I've read online. Sadly, some people online have made comments about how display doesn't matter, and not in a sense of for them, but in general. Display quality is very important, and even I'd say is more important than audio, despite audio being more important to me than camera is. Again though, these differ by the user in what they want, though I'd still say audio is a growing importance to people from what I see posted/discussed online.

 

For instance, I remember back when I had a discussion with people here on S4GRU about 4k displays, many saying it doesn't matter to them, some saying its a waste for a smartphone, and a few who at least agreed its important for VR. I read similar sentiments on other sites to those here regarding VR, yet as VR has become more important, there are a growing number of people accepting 4k and wanting it for their smartphone, likely due to the growing market of VR headsets that work with smartphones.

 

I'd argue though that while 4k is important to a degree, if its going to be in smartphones, it needs to have a battery good enough to handle it. My opinion is at least 5000mah for it. 

 

My last word on this and I'll be done with it.

 

Samsung Galaxy line and Apple's iPhone line represent nearly 90% of all smart phone purchases within the last 3 years, yet none of them support HiFi audio. That immediately removes any demand percentage from the conversation. Offering niche options on devices is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from the pack, but ask HTC or LG and they will tell you that it does not translate to sales. 

 

And, for those 1% customers who purchase said 1% of the marketshare phones, the $20 buy-up exists to satisfy their needs.

 

mic-drop

[Fraydog]

My last word on this and I'll be done with it.

 

Samsung Galaxy line and Apple's iPhone line represent nearly 90% of all smart phone purchases within the last 3 years, yet none of them support HiFi audio. That immediately removes any demand percentage from the conversation. Offering niche options on devices is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from the pack, but ask HTC or LG and they will tell you that it does not translate to sales.

 

And, for those 1% customers who purchase said 1% of the marketshare phones, the $20 buy-up exists to satisfy their needs.

 

mic-drop

Samsung supports UHQ. That is only found on Samsung Level headphones, IMO. The Level headphones are, if anything, underrated. I have a pair I got with the Note5 promotion when I bought it and they have worked very well.

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

My last word on this and I'll be done with it.

 

Samsung Galaxy line and Apple's iPhone line represent nearly 90% of all smart phone purchases within the last 3 years, yet none of them support HiFi audio. That immediately removes any demand percentage from the conversation. Offering niche options on devices is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from the pack, but ask HTC or LG and they will tell you that it does not translate to sales. 

 

And, for those 1% customers who purchase said 1% of the marketshare phones, the $20 buy-up exists to satisfy their needs.

 

mic-drop

 

I suppose we'll see how the LG V20 does in sales, and of course if it even gets on Sprint. In all fairness though, I don't think now I could contribute as much of the V20's success (granted, if it is successful) on purchases of it made by audio enthusiasts and people buying it generally for better audio quality, now that there is this huge Note 7 recall. I've already read several comments online of Note 7 owners saying they're returning the Note 7 for the V20 because of this battery issue. So, that takes away a bit of the audio aspect of its purchasing reasons, besides those other qualities in which people might buy the device for.

 

Samsung supports UHQ. That is only found on Samsung Level headphones, IMO. The Level headphones are, if anything, underrated. I have a pair I got with the Note5 promotion when I bought it and they have worked very well.

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

I've seen a few sites already comparing the audio quality of the Note 5 and the Note 7, as the Note 5 has Wolfson and the Note 7 has Qualcomm Aqstic for audio. While neither smartphones are particularly go-to devices for audio enthusiasts, they are not necessarily considered the worst for audio either. Same goes with the iPhone.

[utiz4321]

The audio argument is really tedious. If you want higher audio quality, pay for the premium data. Not really that hard.

 

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk