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

[COZisBack]

I wouldn't take it as excusing making.

Everyone isn't as smart as you Take HoFo for example.

[Johnner1999]

I wouldn't take it as excusing making. That's one! But, I work in a field where I work on technical projects and am probably more understanding.

 

I wouldn't call it excuse making. It's more like taking responsibility and making sure others are being responsible and accountable.

Agreed, but the press would not understand.

[jamisonshaw125]

New family plan @ 20gb for $100 into perspective.

 

Check out @Cricketnation's Tweet: https://twitter.com/Cricketnation/status/502129598357057536

 

That's 500mb per line....

I could burn through 500 mb in a single day of speed tests.

[Johnner1999]

New family plan @ 20gb for $100 into perspective.

 

Check out @Cricketnation's Tweet: https://twitter.com/Cricketnation/status/502129598357057536

 

That's 500mb per line....

And that's after $60 in discounts, that I assume ATT will remove at some point.

[utiz4321]

Just say "It's coming" is the same song heard for years. Message must change as conditions change. The condition has changed as follows:

1) Network build out taking longer than usual.

2) Network build out not delivering performance as expected.

 

More specificity should be provided in exchange for asking customers to be more patient. It's a reasonable request.

I don't know what longer than usual means in this context. This is the first time that anything like a full rip and replace of an active network in this history of wireless. So, how there can be an usual for this to take longer than is beyond me. If mean it took longer than Sprint forecasted, then your right and that has hurt then and no doubt part of the reasons behind many of the excutive departures.

[Johnner1999]

I don't know what longer than usual means in this context. This is the first time that anything like a full rip and replace of an active network in this history of wireless. So, how there can be an usual for this to take longer than is beyond me. If mean it took longer than Sprint forecasted, then your right and that has hurt then and no doubt part of the reasons behind many of the excutive departures.

Not 100% on topic...

 

I'd be curious as to when Dan knew he was being replaced. Seems odd he would talk to CNET a week before departure - saying how bad it could be to cut prices.

[S4GRU]

I read this an article about Sprint, the new CEO and new pricing plan.

 

 

This worries me because this is the Sprint status quo for survival, price cutting. Sprint has done enough of that over the years. Build a network consumers will love to use, and you won't have to keep price cutting so much. At this time in Sprint's history, it needs to build a better network NOW, not better prices or value. I would like to hear Claure's plans to accomplish that.

 

They are building a better network NOW.  They have been for the past two years.  They are continuing.  Not stopping to take a breath at all.  Spending $8 Billion this year and next year is NOW.  Not the future.

 

He admitted that they have a substandard network in the process of finish a rebuild and upgrade.  He admitted that Sprint can't afford to do nothing in the interim and just watch the customers leave.  It takes as long as it takes to upgrade.  They have the pedal jammed to the floor now.  There were mistakes being made early (mostly for money reasons), but those issues have been worked through.  And there are lots of places the Sprint network actually works well now.  It's about getting the rest of the network into that position.  And that's what they're doing.

 

They are lowering prices, because they know even the fastest they can do this is not going to be fast enough.  They have to provide a super value position to stop the hemorrhaging and maybe even get some small growth.  People will live with some inconveniences in some places for an excellent price.  And if they see it getting better month after month, they will likely stay.

 

But he was absolutely up front and honest and said the network is not there and we need to lower prices until it is.  It's their best strategy.

 

Robert

[S4GRU]

Not 100% on topic...

 

I'd be curious as to when Dan knew he was being replaced. Seems odd he would talk to CNET a week before departure - saying how bad it could be to cut prices.

 

I think Dan was going to be the merger CEO, and then leave at its conclusion anyway.  I believe that was worked out with Masa from the very beginning.  However, I think the merger plan was canceled relatively quickly, and why his departure may have been seen as somewhat hasty.  No merger, means no need for the merger CEO.

 

Robert

[kamiller42]

Agreed, but the press would not understand.

 

The press already doesn't understand. The strategy of hiding the details has not been working and is not working. Of all the Sprint press I've read lately, only one has been positive, and that's about the Sharp phone coming. Time to change it up, and start press releasing areas that will be addressed, give new goals and deadlines, etc. It's a new CEO, a new era. I think the press will be more forgiving than some think.

[Johnner1999]

They are building a better network NOW.  They have been for the past two years.  They are continuing.  Not stopping to take a breath at all.  Spending $8 Billion this year and next year is NOW.  Not the future.

 

He admitted that they have a substandard network in the process of finish a rebuild and upgrade.  He admitted that Sprint can't afford to do nothing in the interim and just watch the customers leave.  It takes as long as it takes to upgrade.  They have the pedal jammed to the floor now.  There were mistakes being made early (mostly for money reasons), but those issues have been worked through.  And there are lots of places the Sprint network actually works well now.  It's about getting the rest of the network into that position.  And that's what they're doing.

 

They are lowering prices, because they know even the fastest they can do this is not going to be fast enough.  They have to provide a super value position to stop the hemorrhaging and maybe even get some small growth.  People will live with some inconveniences in some places for an excellent price.  And if they see it getting better month after month, they will likely stay.

 

But he was absolutely up front and honest and said the network is not there and we need to lower prices until it is.  It's their best strategy.

 

Robert

 

 

I think it safe to say Sprint is going to Plaid! 

 

[jamisonshaw125]

The press already doesn't understand. The strategy of hiding the details has not been working and is not working. Of all the Sprint press I've read lately, only one has been positive, and that's about the Sharp phone coming. Time to change it up, and start press releasing areas that will be addressed, give new goals and deadlines, etc. It's a new CEO, a new era. I think the press will be more forgiving than some think.

If they start promising goals and deadlines, we will have another fiasco like what we had going on in denver. Some idiot promised people that they would have LTE by the end of June or whatever date it was...Yeh...

 

And what do you think is going to happen if Tmobile doesn't meet their goal of 2g to LTE expansion 50% complete by the end of 2014, and substantially complete by mid 2015? Absolute, freaking, chaos. Is what will happen.

[kamiller42]

They are building a better network NOW.  They have been for the past two years.  They are continuing.  Not stopping to take a breath at all.  Spending $8 Billion this year and next year is NOW.  Not the future.

No doubt they are doing something. I'm just saying they need to be more open about what the challenges are. If you order a hamburger in drive thru and they say it'll take 1 minute to deliver and 5 minutes have gone by, the customer would like to know what the hold up is. Yes, it's being made, but why is taking 5 minutes, and when do you'll think it'll be ready?

 

It takes as long as it takes to upgrade. They have the pedal jammed to the floor now.

That's okay. People understand the need to upgrade. What is difficult to swallow is why deadlines pass and without explanation and without new more realistic deadlines announced and without mention of how such delays will be avoided.

 

There were mistakes being made early (mostly for money reasons), but those issues have been worked through.

That's more information than what I've heard from official Sprint channels. Maybe you should do Sprint's PR. :-) Seriously, that sentence is a step in the right direction of what Sprint should be saying. It just needs some expansion.

 

And there are lots of places the Sprint network actually works well now.  It's about getting the rest of the network into that position.  And that's what they're doing.

I wish where I live was one of those places. And unfortunately, that sentence is too often repeated.

 

They are lowering prices, because they know even the fastest they can do this is not going to be fast enough.  They have to provide a super value position to stop the hemorrhaging and maybe even get some small growth.  People will live with some inconveniences in some places for an excellent price.  And if they see it getting better month after month, they will likely stay.

I entirely agree. Shaking up the plans is a good thing. Give a better value. The problem is stated in comm boxes at tech sites, "Why does Sprint give more if you can't get enough out of the network anyway?" The network is crucial to Sprint right now, more than providing a better value.

[dedub]

I'm sure the tmo fanbois will be happy to overlook any tmo delays.

[Deval]

My favorite tweet:

 

" T-Mobile's got so much EDGE, it almost got acquired by Gillette." [emoji3]

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/JohnLegere/status/501718230730166272

 

 

Also I see many more tweets critical of T-Mobile's coverage, so people are starting to see through John's fake swagger and calling him out.

 

If Twitter was like Reddit, that guy would have gotten Gold at least 10x over.

[Deval]

In what way was Framily complicated? Each additional phone is $5/month less until $25/month. Want a little more data? $10. Want a lot more data $20. Done.

 

If that's too complicated, I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

 

Trust me, I feel the same.

 

The complication comes from the ads, which highlighted only the MAXIMUM savings, thus creating confusion.

[S4GRU]

No doubt they are doing something. I'm just saying they need to be more open about what the challenges are. If you order a hamburger in drive thru and they say it'll take 1 minute to deliver and 5 minutes have gone by, the customer would like to know what the hold up is. Yes, it's being made, but why is taking 5 minutes, and when do you'll think it'll be ready?

 

Yes.  Sprint's upgrade message is bad.  That's why there is an S4GRU, because customers took the initiative themselves to find out.  There would be no S4GRU if Sprint did exactly that.  And their customers would cheer.

 

However, Sprint is afraid to do that.  They tried being very open with the Nextel network thin out.  And their competitors used that data against them.  They started telling people in the affected areas, Sprint is reducing your coverage!  They had to take down the informational website because it was costing them big enterprise customers.  AT&T Enterprise sales people would take big Sprint customers right to the Sprint site and use the data against them to pick them up.  It was a huge blunder.

 

The same would happen if they said something to the effect of, lots of very troubling work going in San Diego the next six months.  Lots of dropped calls.  Speeds are going to get worse.  We will start work in these neighborhoods first and bring Band 41/Spark speeds.  But these other neighborhoods are last.

 

Can you imagine the billboards, "Sprint says El Cajon going to be last.  Join T-Mobile today! #Uncarrier"?  Can you imagine the @Legere tweets?  Sprint can't really go down that road.  It is being as transparent as they can with their network.sprint.com website.  Telling people where they were.  They could do a little more and tell people where they are now, but that's about it.

 

Really, the best Sprint can do is move as fast as they can, give people great incentives to ride it out, and keep the message moving.  Sprint is definitely losing the marketing message.  They could do so much more, there.

Robert

[joshuam]

I don't know how much more about the future Sprint should really be saying...but I do think they should do a better job of explaining "America's Newest Network". What does that mean for a consumer? What did they do to make it "America's Newest Network"? That is missing form current ads.

[dedub]

'newest network' is a faux pas, who cares if its the 'newest' what people care about is reliability, coverage, speed, and value based upon those cores.

 

They would be better to say 'building america's best, most efficient network'.

 

building implies that work is ongoing.

 

best and most efficient imply that they are not necessarily trying to be best at a specific metric other than efficiency.

[COZisBack]

I don't know how much more about the future Sprint should really be saying...but I do think they should do a better job of explaining "America's Newest Network". What does that mean for a consumer? What did they do to make it "America's Newest Network"? That is missing form current ads.

 

Hard to explain Network Vision in a 30 second commercial spot. They hope customer's Google for more information.

[S4GRU]

'newest network' is a faux pas, who cares if its the 'newest' what people care about is reliability, coverage, speed, and value based upon those cores.

 

They would be better to say 'building america's best, most efficient network'.

 

building implies that work is ongoing.

 

best and most efficient imply that they are not necessarily trying to be best at a specific metric other than efficiency.

 

The Newest Network moniker is just plain stupid.  I concur.

 

Robert

[joshuam]

Hard to explain Network Vision in a 30 second commercial spot. They hope customer's Google for more information.

 

I agree that it is very difficult. But Verizon Wireless did it for years with the "Can you hear me now?" commercials. And it worked very well! People that know nothing about cellular technology at all knew Verizon had a good network, because they could do what they wanted to do most...make phone calls. Verizon Wireless had issues when data services launched, because nobody else advertised "broadband like speeds on EVDO"...they were all using 3G. People understood 3G better, and Verizon ultimately changed their message.

 

The same thing applies here...Sprint needs to be doing a better job of telling users that they have rebuilt their network, fewer dropped calls, faster data, etc.

[caspar347]

I think it safe to say Sprint is going to Plaid! 

 

http://xkcd.com/1410/

Make sure you read the rollover text.

[COZisBack]

I agree that it is very difficult. But Verizon Wireless did it for years with the "Can you hear me now?" commercials. And it worked very well! People that know nothing about cellular technology at all knew Verizon had a good network, because they could do what they wanted to do most...make phone calls. Verizon Wireless had issues when data services launched, because nobody else advertised "broadband like speeds on EVDO"...they were all using 3G. People understood 3G better, and Verizon ultimately changed their message.

 

The same thing applies here...Sprint needs to be doing a better job of telling users that they have rebuilt their network, fewer dropped calls, faster data, etc.

 

I don't think you're saying this, but let me comment from my own mind about it. When Verizon was doing the can you hear me now commercials it was all about voice and voice only. Voice is no longer the selling point in advertisements. I do think Sprint can spin off this idea and start doing commercials in weird places showing people watching Youtube videos, posting to Twitter/Facebook and watching WatchESPN. Like on top of mountains or etc etc.

 

One thing they lost out on where AT&T slammed is how AT&T are doing commercials with the network people installing small cells in all types of places. They could have done something like that to say that they're building Network Vision in places you need it.

[CrimsonKnightDX]

I don't think you're saying this, but let me comment from my own mind about it. When Verizon was doing the can you hear me now commercials it was all about voice and voice only. Voice is no longer the selling point in advertisements. I do think Sprint can spin off this idea and start doing commercials in weird places showing people watching Youtube videos, posting to Twitter/Facebook and watching WatchESPN. Like on top of mountains or etc etc.

 

One thing they lost out on where AT&T slammed is how AT&T are doing commercials with the network people installing small cells in all types of places. They could have done something like that to say that they're building Network Vision in places you need it.

 

Bingo!

 

This was exactly what I thinking too. Show the network being built from the ground up, using services like Sprint Direct Connect, and how you will not experience fewer dropped calls, faster data, and HD Voice on Americas Network.

[utiz4321]

Yes. Sprint's upgrade message is bad. That's why there is an S4GRU, because customers took the initiative themselves to find out. There would be no S4GRU if Sprint did exactly that. And their customers would cheer.

 

However, Sprint is afraid to do that. They tried being very open with the Nextel network thin out. And their competitors used that data against them. They started telling people in the affected areas, Sprint is reducing your coverage! They had to take down the informational website because it was costing them big enterprise customers. AT&T Enterprise sales people would take big Sprint customers right to the Sprint site and use the data against them to pick them up. It was a huge blunder.

 

The same would happen if they said something to the effect of, lots of very troubling work going in San Diego the next six months. Lots of dropped calls. Speeds are going to get worse. We will start work in these neighborhoods first and bring Band 41/Spark speeds. But these other neighborhoods are last.

 

Can you imagine the billboards, "Sprint says El Cajon going to be last. Join T-Mobile today! #Uncarrier"? Can you imagine the @Legere tweets? Sprint can't really go down that road. It is being as transparent as they can with their network.sprint.com website. Telling people where they were. They could do a little more and tell people where they are now, but that's about it.

 

Really, the best Sprint can do is move as fast as they can, give people great incentives to ride it out, and keep the message moving. Sprint is definitely losing the marketing message. They could do so much more, there.

Robert

The main problem they have from a marketing perspective is the stagger nature of NV. 1900 lte doesn't allow them to claim "fastest" or reliable lte data. 800 could help them gain the reliable moniker but that won't be available every where and not enough spectrum to make anything more than a patch for where 1900 can't get to. 2.6 can give them the edge in average speeds but unless they are willing to invest hevily in small cells or increase cell site density drastically 2.6 will not have blanket coverage and this will drive down average speeds.

 

So what marketing message is left to Sprint on the network side? The only message they are going to be left with is value, more for less statements. A network message is missing except for "hey this isn't the same crazy network it was three years ago" which is what the newest network is ment to say.