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

[cortney]

Chicago seems to be the city most don't throw into this group. Even for those on the coasts it is treated like it's a costal city even though it's on Lake Michigan.

 

Ohhhh I used to work in Chicago, in an old department store

I used to work in Chicago, but I don't work there anymore. 

[greenbastard]

 

And I hope all young boring, generic, big city-obsessed hipsters do take your advise.

 

This way, the rest of the country will be open to people who have taste and prefer the simpler things in their everyday life like actual suburbia that hasn't just been built last-second with zero planning, non-congested roads and highways, access to desirable chains and stores instead of ones the local politicians deem appropriate, and away from the absolutely maniacal politics in bigger states like NY, California, Massachusetts and Illinois. Or cities that cost a mere fraction of living in simply the suburbia and even commuter towns of grossly overpriced states like NY.

 

Oh, and don't get me started about the nation's award-winning worst roads and longest commute times.

 

I can't wait to escape the Northeast. If anyone has any more good areas down South and Midwest to share for me to look into, feel free to let me know

It's not about being hipster, it's about jobs and opportunities. This discussion has nothing to do with style of living and suburban lifestyle. The argument was brought forth due to the idea that Sprint could have a hard time attracting talent to the Midwest. I don't know where being 'hipster' came into the discussion.

[jeffcarp]

You really think Omaha is a destination city for young professionals? Outside of Ag majors, there are not many graduates rushing to Omaha.

 

(unless they're Nebraska Cornhuskers, but that's because they love watching corn grow and reminiscing about the Tom Osborne era with other fellow Cornhuskers. All they talk about is the mid-1990s and how Mike Riley is going to save them from the eternal irrelevance they live in.)

Believe it or not, there is a plentiful supply of young professionals that are educated in the region. The region doesn't necessarily have to draw from outside the region. Within 4 hours of Omaha there are approximately 275,000 college students going back to College next week. And yes my friend, many of them do want to stay here, intentionally.

[jeffcarp]

It's not about being hipster, it's about jobs and opportunities. This discussion has nothing to do with style of living and suburban lifestyle. The argument was brought forth due to the idea that Sprint could have a hard time attracting talent to the Midwest. I don't know where being 'hipster' came into the discussion.

The discussion about Sprint having a hard time attracting talent in Kansas City produced absolutely zero evidence to support that contention.

 

Even your argument about jobs and opportunities has no basis in reality. You're speaking in generalities and absolutes. Obviously, there are more choices in a city like New York. With that choice comes consequences. Because the Midwest has numerically less choice does not mean it doesn't have opportunity. It doesn't have to support the same population.

 

I travel the world for business out of supposedly no opportunity Des Moines Iowa. The story is always the same. Next week I'll be in San Jose and the surrounding suburbs, a bastion of opportunity, culture and activity. But ask the locals when the last time they went to downtown San Francisco. The people I'll be working with out there for a week will tell you it's been 6 months or more and actually they avoided if they can.

 

The reality is, most of us all live in our own little version of Suburbia. Most of us live and interact in a small geographic island around us. So whether our daily lives are spent in an island surrounded by cornfields or an island surrounded by 10 million people, the distinction is less significant then you are trying to portray.

[kg4icg]

You know what is funny, the 4 major metro areas he mentioned have something in common he failed to realise. High unemployment and high crime too. And if you look really close, you might find out some of the good paying jobs moved out of California into less costly places to do business like Texas and Virginia. For example, take a drive along the Dulles Toll/Access road between Tysons and Herndon, and you will understand why they call it the Dulles Tech Corridor. Even VW/Audi moved there HQ out of California into Virginia.

[jeffcarp]

Yep, when you can come out of college and earn high five digits in many professional/technical areas, can own a house for $125 per square foot, pay $100 a month for energy and sincerely say that you love the taxpayer funded education system that your child attends then you learn to appreciate what the Midwest offers you. I love big cities and I've been to most of them but there is a mindset of self-importance that I find exists in many cases and in my opinion it comes partially from feeling like you have to justify what you have to put up with the live there. For example, sure we can talk about how big cities have great mass transit systems compared to the Midwest but on the flip side I can drive to my office in 10 minutes, maybe 20 minutes during so called rush hour. So I'm not sure why we are discussing cities not having mass transit systems that don't need them.

 

But this has strayed far from a discussion about Sprint and to be honest I think that guy is trolling. The bottom line is there is absolutely no evidence that I have seen that suggests that Sprint feels like they have any difficulty attracting talent in either the professional or technical ranks in KC.

[kg4icg]

Sprint still has there campus in Reston, Va serving the Government IT sector, so as for major metropolitan areas, Sprint is in one.

[WiWavelength]

Mid-major Midwest markets are a non-destination. No young, future graduate of an AAU university is dreaming of ending up in Omaha, NE. They're thinking of NY, LA, SF, Mia, Chicago, Boston, and other metropolitan areas. I would support your case for St. Louis and Kansas City, but Omaha?!

 

Thanks for telling the future.  I guess then those five Fortune 500 companies in Omaha -- Berkshire Hathaway, ConAgra Foods, Union Pacific, Peter Kiewit Sons', and Mutual of Omaha -- and the smaller Fortune 1000 companies that MrNuke mentioned are all going under because they will not be able to hire future graduates of AAU universities.

 

By the way, the University of Kansas, Iowa State University, University of Iowa, University of Missouri, and University of Minnesota are all AAU universities reasonably proximate to Omaha with students from there and graduates who go there.  The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is also a former AAU member.

 

AJ

[RedSpark]

Sprint still has there campus in Reston, Va serving the Government IT sector, so as for major metropolitan areas, Sprint is in one.

 

Sprint has made Chicago one of its leading markets, having launched the "Sprint for Chicago" initiative there. This included being the first launch city for LTE-A, adding hundreds of new tower sites and opening 115 new stores by the end of 2015. Source and Source.

 

Sprint should launch a similar initiative in the Washington, Maryland and Virginia Area to improve its profile among Government IT.

[WiWavelength]

Sprint has made Chicago one of its leading markets, having launched the "Sprint for Chicago" initiative there. This included being the first launch city for LTE-A, adding hundreds of new tower sites and opening 115 new stores by the end of 2015. Source and Source.

 

Sprint should launch a similar initiative in the Washington, Maryland and Virginia Area to improve its profile among Government IT.

 

Yes, but the spectrum and sites acquired from USCC in Chicago have at least partly enabled Sprint's aggressive approach there.  That is a big reason why Chicago is one of Sprint's leading markets.  Sprint has no such luxury in the Washington-Baltimore metro.

 

AJ

[RedSpark]

Yes, but the spectrum and sites acquired from USCC in Chicago have at least partly enabled Sprint's aggressive approach there.  That is a big reason why Chicago is one of Sprint's leading markets.  Sprint has no such luxury in the Washington-Baltimore metro.

 

AJ

 

Good point. What would Sprint have to do to have a similar program in the DC/MD/VA area? How would it play out if it did? Small cells, etc?

[grapkoski]

You know what is funny, the 4 major metro areas he mentioned have something in common he failed to realise. High unemployment and high crime too. And if you look really close, you might find out some of the good paying jobs moved out of California into less costly places to do business like Texas and Virginia. For example, take a drive along the Dulles Toll/Access road between Tysons and Herndon, and you will understand why they call it the Dulles Tech Corridor. Even VW/Audi moved there HQ out of California into Virginia.

 

As someone in the DC tech community that corridor has largely died. What remains is mostly government contractors and data centers once you hit the greenway, which is where data centers belong. Although the people of Loudoun County are starting to revolt, so we shall see how long that lasts.

[WiWavelength]

Good point. What would Sprint have to do to have a similar program in the DC/MD/VA area? How would it play out if it did? Small cells, etc?

 

Yes, densify, probably.

 

Baltimore, for example, is not getting a band 25 second carrier anytime soon -- because it is a PCS A block 20 MHz (10 MHz FDD) market.  Washington still has the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license.  What Baltimore does have going for it is that it was the Sprint XOHM test market -- before the WiMAX initiative got consolidated with and transferred over to Clearwire.  So, Baltimore should have decent density of Clearwire sites.

 

AJ

[grapkoski]

Yes, densify, probably.

 

Baltimore, for example, is not getting a band 25 second carrier anytime soon -- because it is a PCS A block 20 MHz (10 MHz FDD) market.  Washington still has the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license.  What Baltimore does have going for it is that it was the Sprint XOHM test market -- before the WiMAX initiative got consolidated with and transferred over to Clearwire.  So, Baltimore should have decent density of Clearwire sites.

 

AJ

 

I miss the XOHM branding. I always just imagined groups of people with HTC Evos raising their phones in unison humming XOOOHMM XOHMMMM. Much like those aliens did on the simpsons for Microsoft's Zune.

[RedSpark]

Yes, densify, probably.

 

Baltimore, for example, is not getting a band 25 second carrier anytime soon -- because it is a PCS A block 20 MHz (10 MHz FDD) market.  Washington still has the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license.  What Baltimore does have going for it is that it was the Sprint XOHM test market -- before the WiMAX initiative got consolidated with and transferred over to Clearwire.  So, Baltimore should have decent density of Clearwire sites.

 

AJ

 

Appreciate the info. What does Washington having the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license mean in particular for Sprint here?

 

I know that the LTE build in DC was lagging for a long time. Not sure of the reason... Permits perhaps? But Spark is live here and it's a definite improvement!

[kct1975]

 

 

...

 

Sprint should launch a similar initiative in the Washington, Maryland and Virginia Area to improve its profile among Government IT.

 

 

... Sprint has no such luxury in the Washington-Baltimore metro.

 

AJ

 

Speaking for myself, I work in the Tysons Herndon-Dulles area, and since NV, I have LTE everywhere I go.

 

Also, even in the suburbs, where I live, I am on LTE almost all of the time. There are only a few places were I drop back to really strong 3G, and only one very small pocket where I drop to 1x.

 

So, I think that the DC/VA/MD area is just fine.

[cletus]

Anecdotal sure but my wife is in Chicago for a wedding and some other stuff and she says her coverage and speeds are awesome. Much better than when she finished school there 7 years ago (one would hope that would be true).

 

Anyway my point is she is getting good coverage and speeds even on her iPhone 5.

[WiWavelength]

I miss the XOHM branding. I always just imagined groups of people with HTC Evos raising their phones in unison humming XOOOHMM XOHMMMM. Much like those aliens did on the simpsons for Microsoft's Zune.

 

The XOHM branding was interesting but short lived.  And the logo was cool.

 

 

Pronunciation could have been a question mark for many consumers.  But they would have learned.  I remember talking to an average consumer 15 years ago during the early days of VZW -- she pronounced it "Vair-e-zahn."

 

AJ

[grapkoski]

Appreciate the info. What does Washington having the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license mean in particular for Sprint here?

 

I know that the LTE build in DC was lagging for a long time. Not sure of the reason... Permits perhaps? But Spark is live here and it's a definite improvement!

 

In the District itself, it wasn't always the permits. Otherwise, I would've blasted DCRA with emails cc'ing the council about the hold ups. I have a feeling it was either landlords trying to extort more money or backhaul issues (VZ, sadly, had a great chunk of the initial contracts).

 

 

Speaking for myself, I work in the Tysons Herndon-Dulles area, and since NV, I have LTE everywhere I go.

 

Also, even in the suburbs, where I live, I am on LTE almost all of the time. There are only a few places were I drop back to really strong 3G, and only one very small pocket where I drop to 1x.

 

So, I think that the DC/VA/MD area is just fine.

 

Yep, same here. B41 is pretty prevalent in Tysons - even the big, non-Maserati, mall. I've only experienced some pains on the Dulles Toll Road between I-66 and Dolley Madison (123). I kept reporting it and LTE service seems to be slowing coming back even on my RF-challenged Samsung.

[WiWavelength]

Appreciate the info. What does Washington having the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license mean in particular for Sprint here?

 

Full PCS A/B block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) markets have sufficient spectrum for a 5 MHz FDD band 25 second carrier in the near future, if not already (e.g. Phoenix).

 

AJ

[IamMrFamous07]

Full PCS A/B block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) markets have sufficient spectrum for a 5 MHz FDD band 25 second carrier in the near future, if not already (e.g. Phoenix).

 

AJ

Can they just convert band 25 from 5x5 into 10x10?

[WiWavelength]

Can they just convert band 25 from 5x5 into 10x10?

 

You are talking about the PCS G block carrier?  Yes, an expansion to 10 MHz FDD has already happened in some markets (e.g. Columbus).  But those are few and far between.  It cannot happen in the vast majority of markets.

 

AJ

[IamMrFamous07]

You are talking about the PCS G block carrier? Yes, an expansion to 10 MHz FDD has already happened in some markets (e.g. Columbus). But those are few and far between. It cannot happen in the vast majority of markets.

 

AJ

Si señor. Do we know which markets that can't get 10x10?

[WiWavelength]

Si señor. Do we know which markets that can't get 10x10?

 

Name just about any market.  It cannot do 10 MHz FDD until CDMA2000 is pared down significantly or shut down completely.

 

AJ

[joshuam]

Yes, densify, probably.

 

Baltimore, for example, is not getting a band 25 second carrier anytime soon -- because it is a PCS A block 20 MHz (10 MHz FDD) market.  Washington still has the full PCS A block 30 MHz (15 MHz FDD) license.  What Baltimore does have going for it is that it was the Sprint XOHM test market -- before the WiMAX initiative got consolidated with and transferred over to Clearwire.  So, Baltimore should have decent density of Clearwire sites.

 

AJ

 

Baltimore's Clearwire sites were horrible. They were in very isolated areas.