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

[derrph]

I'm not blown away with Sprint in Chicago. The service is the same as it is in my hometown. I didn't see those crazy speeds but service is good overall.

 

 

I don't see too much promo for sprint as I do T-Mobile in Chicago. Everywhere I turn its T-Mobile somewhere

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Johnner1999]

Wow so Sprint charged me an accelerated lease charge since they didn't receive the phones back yet. This is okay - just some delay and I can see it.

 

But then also charged an ETF of $350 per phone not returned lol. What a scam...

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

I've mentioned this before, but I'll say again. When I had WiMax for a short time in the past, I got up to around 8mbps or 9mbps, but only after I put the modem by the window in the living room. This was way before I knew anything about spectrum in-building penetration. I tried bringing the modem elsewhere inside my home, and got less speed.

 

I read about that new Karma service at 5mbps, which is more akin to the speeds I got on WiMax when the modem was away from the window. So, I think a reasonable settlement would be 5mbps to 9mpbs. However regarding data caps, I really don't know. If the service wasn't impacting the quality of the WiMax network, then I'm not sure how it would on LTE, though it certainly doesn't seem fair for these organizations to get what Sprint customers don't.

 

Plus there are the legalities of the contract being Sprint now and no longer Clearwire. I would think there'd be a clause ending the contract if the company, in this case, Clearwire, were sold or liquidated.

[dedub]

The problem with your suggestion is that the change in transport is very significant, since it gives them access to a network they never did till now. One that has 3x the coverage area, capacity, and speed. Why should Sprint have to give away the farm to those users? 

 

Having 3x the coverage is an excellent point.

 

However, I think it is still irrelevant.

 

The network is only bigger now on LTE because clear didn't finish building out Wimax.

 

If Wimax standard had won, then the ostensibly the wimax coverage would now be equal or similar as to the current lte coverage.

 

Regarding capacity/speed, I believe I've already covered that, in that those customers should still have the same/similar service as wimax provided (6-12mbs) and be traffic shaped as necessary to minimize any impact to other customers at the same base station/sector.

 

The sticking point for mc/mb is the material change from an unlimited service with no throttling, to a service with an extremely low cap and extreme throttle rate.

 

I posit that any sane person would be justifiably upset if sprint arbitrarily changed their service from their standard unlimited lte to a 6 gig cap with a 256-512k throttle.

[utiz4321]

Having 3x the coverage is an excellent point.

 

However, I think it is still irrelevant.

 

The network is only bigger now on LTE because clear didn't finish building out Wimax.

 

If Wimax standard had won, then the ostensibly the wimax coverage would now be equal or similar as to the current lte coverage.

 

Regarding capacity/speed, I believe I've already covered that, in that those customers should still have the same/similar service as wimax provided (6-12mbs) and be traffic shaped as necessary to minimize any impact to other customers at the same base station/sector.

 

The sticking point for mc/mb is the material change from an unlimited service with no throttling, to a service with an extremely low cap and extreme throttle rate.

Why and how coverage is different is not relevant. The only relevant point is what "best" plan available through retail means.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JosefTor]

I'm not blown away with Sprint in Chicago. The service is the same as it is in my hometown. I didn't see those crazy speeds but service is good overall.

 

 

I don't see too much promo for sprint as I do T-Mobile in Chicago. Everywhere I turn its T-Mobile somewhere

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree, Sprint needs to be a lot more serious about marketing. I never see their ads even when it makes a lot of sense (Kansas City world series). When I do see it, it doesn't appear to make much sense, putting an open world ad in the Los Angeles international airport that talks about free data in South America and Canada when that whole terminal doesn't fly to those places (next terminal over Sprint).

[derrph]

I agree, Sprint needs to be a lot more serious about marketing. I never see their ads even when it makes a lot of sense (Kansas City world series). When I do see it, it doesn't appear to make much sense, putting an open world ad in the Los Angeles international airport that talks about free data in South America and Canada when that whole terminal doesn't fly to those places (next terminal over Sprint).

I've seen some sprint prompt but they were all on electric billboards that didn't stay visible for no more than a few seconds. Honestly if I lived I Chicago and wasn't up on who's the best carrier I would have thought that T-Mobile was one of the best based on the amount of billboards and etc that is posted.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[S4GRU]

I don't believe that they should or will get any service that isn't an equivalent of wimax service.

Agreed.  They shouldn't be allowed to get more than the equivalent.  But they already have.  The injunction stopped Sprint from turning off WiMax in unaffected markets and Expedience (a service MB/MC do not have, in markets they do not serve or own spectrum in).  This judge obviously has no problem giving away more than MB/MC is entitled to.  

 

And my big issue is not speed, it's capacity.  I don't care if MB/MC users get full speed available.  I just don't want them to have more than 5% of the capacity.  Heck, I don't even care if Sprint gives 10% or 20% of the capacity.  It just needs to be finite.  If the strain they can put on the network can never be stopped and can grow ad infinitum, then it may get to the point where there is no benefit to the spectrum.

 

 

Like I've said before, the changing of transport from wimax to LTE should be irrelevant.

 

The resulting service should remain the same as currently provided in as much aspects as reasonably possible.

You and I really don't disagree about this, or even much on this subject really.  I don't even have a problem giving them better service than what they received on WiMax.  As long as their capacity on the network cannot exceed a certain reasonable threshold.  Something easy to monitor and manage.  Not a free for all.

[Deval]

Just out of curiosity, were these users limited to wimax? Or was the hotspot like any Sprint hotspot that supported wimax... Which had access to evdo as well.

 

WiMAX only I believe, they did not want to switch to LTE devices due to the plans.

[Deval]

Having 3x the coverage is an excellent point.

 

However, I think it is still irrelevant.

 

The network is only bigger now on LTE because clear didn't finish building out Wimax.

 

If Wimax standard had won, then the ostensibly the wimax coverage would now be equal or similar as to the current lte coverage.

 

Regarding capacity/speed, I believe I've already covered that, in that those customers should still have the same/similar service as wimax provided (6-12mbs) and be traffic shaped as necessary to minimize any impact to other customers at the same base station/sector.

 

The sticking point for mc/mb is the material change from an unlimited service with no throttling, to a service with an extremely low cap and extreme throttle rate.

 

I posit that any sane person would be justifiably upset if sprint arbitrarily changed their service from their standard unlimited lte to a 6 gig cap with a 256-512k throttle.

 

But that's betting on futures, while they were perfectly fine with the existing WiMAX coverage. I would argue that even their existing users never saw a consistent 6-12mbps during WiMAX's heyday. 

[Terrell352]

Verizon is doing it too. People cant have nice things. Lets see how easily Verizon comes out with no resistance. http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/06/verizon-omnilynx-alabama/

[Arysyn]

Verizon is doing it too. People cant have nice things. Lets see how easily Verizon comes out with no resistance. http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/06/verizon-omnilynx-alabama/

I read that a bit ago and thought of posting it here, but I didn't, as I don't want to make comparisons go it. I think it's bad enough what is happening to Sprint in this case, yet Verizon gets away with what they do, the whole FiOS mess, etc.

 

I also don't want to sound like I'm some major Sprint fanboy Defender either. I've certainly had my fair share of issues with Sprint, but that isn't going to stop me from making a defense of them when I believe they are being wronged.

 

Besides, while I try to minimize how often I mention my health issues here, I want to say that I've also had my fair share dealing with human health rights and charitable organizations. Although I'm sure there are some that do genuine good for the people they serve, there are alot of crooked, deceptive, and outright criminal of these organizations. I've even served on the board of a former affiliate of one, which I know their former parent organization often skirts (or use to skirt) the line of a major crime.

 

So because of my dealings with many of these organizations, including the one I was a board member of its former affiliate, I know quite a bit what goes on in these organizations, though while not specifically MB/MC, the actions being done by them reported in the media, are very reflective of my own recollections of these organizations in my dealings with them.

 

Yet, while Verizon is larger than Sprint, I'm surprised it is getting away with what they are doing to that organization. Never ever underestimate the power of these organizations, even over a large for profit business such as Verizon or Sprint. Unfortunately for Sprint though, they just don't have whatever Verizon does, in overcoming the attacks against them by these so-called "charities".

[markjcc]

Does anyone know if we'll be hearing from one of the Sprint execs or Marcelo himself about WiMax?

[gusherb]

I've seen some sprint prompt but they were all on electric billboards that didn't stay visible for no more than a few seconds. Honestly if I lived I Chicago and wasn't up on who's the best carrier I would have thought that T-Mobile was one of the best based on the amount of billboards and etc that is posted.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For us that do live here, most believe that AT&T is the best carrier in Chicago. It's mostly true, downtown is packed with small cells everywhere. Indoor coverage is the force to be reckoned with (only sprint comes close followed by Verizon).

Everyone I know that had Sprint were more budget minded. Most of them fled to T-Mobile, one to Verizon, and another fled to Verizon after Sprint bought out the US Cellular assets here. All the AT&T users I know are still with AT&T and would never leave unless the network just literally melted down one day.

[Jones]

For us that do live here, most believe that AT&T is the best carrier in Chicago. It's mostly true, downtown is packed with small cells everywhere. Indoor coverage is the force to be reckoned with (only sprint comes close followed by Verizon).

Everyone I know that had Sprint were more budget minded. Most of them fled to T-Mobile, one to Verizon, and another fled to Verizon after Sprint bought out the US Cellular assets here. All the AT&T users I know are still with AT&T and would never leave unless the network just literally melted down one day.

I thought you lived in Gary, IN

[nexgencpu]

For us that do live here, most believe that AT&T is the best carrier in Chicago. It's mostly true, downtown is packed with small cells everywhere. Indoor coverage is the force to be reckoned with (only sprint comes close followed by Verizon).

Everyone I know that had Sprint were more budget minded. Most of them fled to T-Mobile, one to Verizon, and another fled to Verizon after Sprint bought out the US Cellular assets here. All the AT&T users I know are still with AT&T and would never leave unless the network just literally melted down one day.

I believe Sprint will probably be first (or tied for first) in Chicago on next rootmetrics report. I've heard from a few people that have both Verizon and Sprint.

[derrph]

I believe Sprint will probably be first (or tied for first) in Chicago on next rootmetrics report. I've heard from a few people that have both Verizon and Sprint.

The network here is very consistent. I wish I went to the parts that are CA but oh well.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gusherb]

I thought you lived in Gary, IN

No but close. I spend enough time in Chicago though... 

 

I believe Sprint will probably be first (or tied for first) in Chicago on next rootmetrics report. I've heard from a few people that have both Verizon and Sprint.

 

Definitely tied for first. With whom is the question, it may even be a three way between them and ATT/VZW. I'd be surprised if T-Mobile made it past fourth. 30 Mhz of LTE spectrum while everyone else is now using between 60-80 Mhz is a sizeable difference (AT&T just refarmed more band 2 and made the area 10x10 in that band now, giving them 3 10x10 LTE carriers in Chi). Still that makes them all pretty much the same, the real make or break for people is whether they have good LTE coverage where they spend most of their time, so I think from now on for awhile that will be the differentiator unless Sprint can finally put it's LTE800 to it's intended use and fill in any holes. 

[Mr.Nuke]

Does anyone know if we'll be hearing from one of the Sprint execs or Marcelo himself about WiMax?

No you won't, and I'm not sure what you'd expect them to say. Sprint is involved in active litigation at this point. They'll attempt to work out an agreement with the plaintiffs and if not it will go to court.

[cortney]

All the AT&T users I know are still with AT&T and would never leave unless the network just literally melted down one day.

 

Replace AT&T with VZW and Chicago with NYC, but also extend it to the whole entire metro area. It's not just a lean, it's like a belief system for people there. 

[derrph]

On my way to the airport me and my über driver was talking about phone carriers. He said he likes AT&T but it has it moments. I mentioned all the T-Mobile promo and he said that they have to be paying a shit load for the amount of campaigning they are doing. I told him I had Sprint and he had nothing bad to say. He said Sprint has come a long way in Chicago and was even considering switching cause he's heard good things about them plus it's cheaper.

 

So in essence, Sprint is I guess letting word of mouth in Chicago spread about the network quality where as T-Mobile is posting billboards wherever they can to get the attention of people in a " hey look at me, what about me" approach.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gusherb]

On my way to the airport me and my über driver was talking about phone carriers. He said he likes AT&T but it has it moments. I mentioned all the T-Mobile promo and he said that they have to be paying a shit load for the amount of campaigning they are doing. I told him I had Sprint and he had nothing bad to say. He said Sprint has come a long way in Chicago and was even considering switching cause he's heard good things about them plus it's cheaper.

 

So in essence, Sprint is I guess letting word of mouth in Chicago spread about the network quality where as T-Mobile is posting billboards wherever they can to get the attention of people in a " hey look at me, what about me" approach.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He's clearly not been with Sprint before, or in a long time. Every single person I know that used to have Sprint say nothing but bad things about them. So the word of mouth thing would only be working with people that haven't used them before. Maybe several years from now when the good word outweighs the bad then it'll start "converting" all the bad mouthers over to good mouthers.

If anyone knows anyone that has or used to have Sprint then they'll probably try to talk them out of it.

 

I personally won't recommend any carrier, but will tell them

to try it, and present as many facts as they'll listen to.

[tommym65]

He's clearly not been with Sprint before, or in a long time. Every single person I know that used to have Sprint say nothing but bad things about them. So the word of mouth thing would only be working with people that haven't used them before. Maybe several years from now when the good word outweighs the bad then it'll start "converting" all the bad mouthers over to good mouthers.

If anyone knows anyone that has or used to have Sprint then they'll probably try to talk them out of it.

 

I personally won't recommend any carrier, but will tell them

to try it, and present as many facts as they'll listen to.

 

With all due respect, much of that post is BS. I personally have had Sprint in Chicagoland for over 15 years, and I would not hesitate to recommend it. I have a significant number of family and friends who feel the same. 

[Dkoellerwx]

With all due respect, much of that post is BS. I personally have had Sprint in Chicagoland for over 15 years, and I would not hesitate to recommend it. I have a significant number of family and friends who feel the same.

I would have to agree with this. 3 of my Framily live in Chicago and have had a good experience. Came from T-Mobile, were have lots of issues with them at the time. Have had nothing but good things to say about Sprint.

 

Sent from my LG G4

[gusherb]

With all due respect, much of that post is BS. I personally have had Sprint in Chicagoland for over 15 years, and I would not hesitate to recommend it. I have a significant number of family and friends who feel the same.

How could it be BS when that's my experience and observation? Everything I said in that post is based on observation and experience. I'm not really making a blanket statement or putting words in anyone's mouth either.

Perhaps it's this that you didn't like: "If anyone knows anyone that has or used to have Sprint then they'll probably try to talk them out of it." Well let me clarify, again that applies based on my experience and observation. I don't know anyone with Sprint that actually likes them, at least enough to recommend it. Except of course my National Sales rep contact who is also a lifelong family friend. She would never say a bad thing about her employer but she also tells it like it is.

 

 

I would have to agree with this. 3 of my Framily live in Chicago and have had a good experience. Came from T-Mobile, were have lots of issues with them at the time. Have had nothing but good things to say about Sprint.

Sent from my LG G4

Not to put this in a bad way, but anything is an improvement from T-Mobile. All four are very close but they remain number 4 here, so my previous sentence would be technically true, mainly in terms of indoor coverage which can be and is a real pain in many buildings in the city compared to the competition.