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

[Fraydog]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-keep-their-cellphones-longer-1461007321

 

Funny, people are upgrading less now that they know the actual cost of their devices. Funny how that works...

[tybo31316]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-keep-their-cellphones-longer-1461007321

 

Funny, people are upgrading less now that they know the actual cost of their devices. Funny how that works...

I figured this would happen. Knowing the cost of your device and increasing your bill with every device you lease/finance. Make your bill increase significantly depending on the number of lines a user has. Also, premium phones has a longer life spans than they didn't in the past. Speaking of running properly after owning it after a year or two.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[NYC126]

Incorrect.  Reliability is a measure - withing a given geographic footprint - of how often one can connect to said network on the first try and, more importantly, to remain connected to it.

 

Apples and oranges. 

 

What's more, Sprint isn't claiming those things; Rootmetrics is.

 

I am a Sprint kool-aid drinker but this one take it to another level. Coverage is extremely important, but then again the others three can run ads against Sprint inferior coverage.

[utiz4321]

I am a Sprint kool-aid drinker but this one take it to another level. Coverage is extremely important, but then again the others three can run ads against Sprint inferior coverage.

Coverage is subjective. So who has the biggest network doesn't mean that much unless you are a cross country truck drive. It does set a lower upper bound on the number of subscribers that sprint could conceivably capture compared to other carriers though.

 

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[RedSpark]

So that's what he was doing at Facebook....

 

Just saw this video posted:

 

https://www.facebook.com/150984694912422/videos/1198090626868485/

 

Marcelo talks about entrepreneurship, One Sprint, and the Sprint turnaround. This was a really interesting conversation.

 

At the 24:20 Mark: Marcelo says that a new marketing campaign is coming on May 8th. He said he learned from customers what the most effective marketing campaigns are during his Listening Tour. He said that he wasn't hearing the feedback he heard in his Listening Tour from his marketing department. He also said connecting directly with consumers has changed his job, and that he was mad at himself for taking so long to do this.

[dnicekid]

Coverage is subjective. So who has the biggest network doesn't mean that much unless you are a cross country truck drive. It does set a lower upper bound on the number of subscribers that sprint could conceivably capture compared to other carriers though.

 

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

 

 

Yes and no. I constantly hear the argument of coverage. Often many on here point driving coast to coast and other examples. So I say yes and no. Coast to coast? How about in between cities/towns and outskirts of cities/towns? They fall in the coast to coast examples yes. But does sprint have coverage like the others no. I don't need to drive from mass to Cali. But when I leave the populated areas and highways all I see is 1x, extended 3G or roaming. My data is unusable. Here we have hills and mountains so I know geographically it's different but this is where vzw/att make their arguments if I break down or have an accident I may be SOL. I don't care if they have coverage in western Montana, I don't visit there. But I do care that my area is blanketed. That's the insurance the others sell.... We got you covered.

 

Using Montana as an example because it's so remote to my location.

 

I do understand the cost to cover small numbers, however extended 1x/3G is useless let us roam on lte as a add on or something. Nothing worse than losing gps in the middle of nowhere

[utiz4321]

Yes and no. I constantly hear the argument of coverage. Often many on here point driving coast to coast and other examples. So I say yes and no. Coast to coast? How about in between cities/towns and outskirts of cities/towns? They fall in the coast to coast examples yes. But does sprint have coverage like the others no. I don't need to drive from mass to Cali. But when I leave the populated areas and highways all I see is 1x, extended 3G or roaming. My data is unusable. Here we have hills and mountains so I know geographically it's different but this is where vzw/att make their arguments if I break down or have an accident I may be SOL. I don't care if they have coverage in western Montana, I don't visit there. But I do care that my area is blanketed. That's the insurance the others sell.... We got you covered.

 

Using Montana as an example because it's so remote to my location.

 

I do understand the cost to cover small numbers, however extended 1x/3G is useless let us roam on lte as a add on or something. Nothing worse than losing gps in the middle of nowhere

Hence the subjective part. I rarely roam. And the few times i do isnt worth giving up unlimited or the cost premium of other carriers.

 

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

[kct1975]

What's Marcelo doing with Facebook?

 

https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/724639213820502016

 

https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/724726648441044998

 

A partnership?

Please...Please don't tell me that Sprint is going to start shoving Facebook in our Faces...I personally have absolutely No Use for Facebook.

 

As much as I like Sprint, if they ever go to forcing everyone to use a Facebook account to log in to the Sprint websites, then I am COMPLETELY Done with Sprint.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Sprint, but I personally don't want to have anything at all to do with Facebook.

Potentially, I know FB has used Sprint for their corporate hotspots for a while. Even during the dark times.

That's fine...I hope that Facebook and its employees really enjoy using Sprint service and have such a good experience that they promote it.

[kct1975]

I figured this would happen. Knowing the cost of your device and increasing your bill with every device you lease/finance. Make your bill increase significantly depending on the number of lines a user has. Also, premium phones has a longer life spans than they didn't in the past. Speaking of running properly after owning it after a year or two.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Completely agree!

 

I have read several articles, recently, that have mentioned that Smartphone Technology has sort of hit a wall, where the newest phones, now, aren't really that much of an upgrade from the previous devices.

So that's what he was doing at Facebook....

 

Just saw this video posted:

 

https://www.facebook.com/150984694912422/videos/1198090626868485/

 

Marcelo talks about entrepreneurship, One Sprint, and the Sprint turnaround. This was a really interesting conversation.

 

At the 24:20 Mark: Marcelo says that a new marketing campaign is coming on May 8th. He said he learned from customers what the most effective marketing campaigns are during his Listening Tour. He said that he wasn't hearing the feedback he heard in his Listening Tour from his marketing department. He also said connecting directly with consumers has changed his job, and that he was mad at himself for taking so long to do this.

Very Interesting...Thanks for providing an analysis of the video.

 

Since I am unable to access Facebook, I was just wondering if you might have a YouTube link for the video.

 

If so, could you post it?

[JThorson]

I didn't realize Sprint was broken into 18 separate regions. I was thinking it was 6-8. I must say very interesting...

[jeffcarp]

That's is the definition of reliability, but the problem is that's not the consumer perception of the word in cellular. Your answer is correct though but to the average consumer reliability means more along the lines of more coverage in more places with fast speeds in those places. Not more speed and less coverage.

 

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How are you determining what the "average consumer" wants?

[RedSpark]

Please...Please don't tell me that Sprint is going to start shoving Facebook in our Faces...I personally have absolutely No Use for Facebook.

 

As much as I like Sprint, if they ever go to forcing everyone to use a Facebook account to log in to the Sprint websites, then I am COMPLETELY Done with Sprint.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Sprint, but I personally don't want to have anything at all to do with Facebook.

That's fine...I hope that Facebook and its employees really enjoy using Sprint service and have such a good experience that they promote it.

 

 

Marcelo and Facebook "partnered" for this interview it seems. Perhaps they'll work on initiatives going forward. Hard to tell at this point what he has planned, but he did say he wanted to better connect with customers.

[RedSpark]

Completely agree!

 

I have read several articles, recently, that have mentioned that Smartphone Technology has sort of hit a wall, where the newest phones, now, aren't really that much of an upgrade from the previous devices.

Very Interesting...Thanks for providing an analysis of the video.

 

Since I am unable to access Facebook, I was just wondering if you might have a YouTube link for the video.

 

If so, could you post it?

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a YouTube video link, but it is on a publicly accessible Facebook page. You don't need a Facebook account to watch the video.

 

Marcelo talks a lot about his experience going from Brightstar to Sprint, and how he's trying to reinstall an entrepreneurial "winning culture" at Sprint, similar to that which he had at Brightstar. According to him, Sprint has been gaining customers every day. It'll be interesting to see how the numbers pan out at the Earnings Call.

[RedSpark]

I didn't realize Sprint was broken into 18 separate regions. I was thinking it was 6-8. I must say very interesting...

 

There are 4 main area presidents: West, Central, South, and Northeast. Within those 4 areas, there are 18 regions which each have their own president.

 

As Marcelo explained in the video, this setup enables Area/Regional presidents to be more entrepreneurial and in touch with their local userbase.

[Dkoellerwx]

Please...Please don't tell me that Sprint is going to start shoving Facebook in our Faces...I personally have absolutely No Use for Facebook.

 

As much as I like Sprint, if they ever go to forcing everyone to use a Facebook account to log in to the Sprint websites, then I am COMPLETELY Done with Sprint.

 

Facebook isn't that terrible.... 

 

But that won't happen. It can't. (At least... not for a good number more years). Because there is still a good percentage of people that don't have (and may never have) a Facebook account. So I wouldn't worry about it.

[Arysyn]

Marcelo and Facebook "partnered" for this interview it seems. Perhaps they'll work on initiatives going forward. Hard to tell at this point what he has planned, but he did say he wanted to better connect with customers.

 

I'm not sure if Sprint partnering with Facebook right now is a good idea. It might bring attention to Sprint's Facebook page, which is full of complaints from Sprint's current and former customers. While social media can be important for advertising, Sprint needs to resolve many of the customer service issues people complain so much about on Sprint's Facebook page. While Sprint has improved much regarding its network, customer service, particularly in-store service needs much improvement.

[Terrell352]

How are you determining what the "average consumer" wants?

Because this is what has been placed in our heads for years from carrier commercials. People are tricked into thinking that bigger numbers equals better everything and that's not only for cellular but basically anything.

 

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[Arysyn]

Because this is what has been placed in our heads for years from carrier commercials. People are tricked into thinking that bigger numbers equals better everything and that's not only for cellular but basically anything.

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

I definitely agree, and also think this is even more true about smartphone devices, especially here in the U.S. Already in Asia, there are devices much more advanced than what is available here in the U.S., yet online tech media talks about devices sold here in the U.S. as though they are some really amazing examples of technical progression, even going so far as to state they are so advanced, people here don't really need to upgrade their devices that much, which only is true in the sense that actual advanced devices are difficult to even get here.

 

Thing is, if some of the manufacturers in Asia such as Vivo, Oppo, Meizu and others were to begin selling their devices here in the u.S., there'd be an explosion in smartphone sales growth with many more people upgrading their devices every six months to one year maximum, which really is how things should be here. There ought to be an affordable lease model in place where people would pay $300-$350 per year for a flagship smartphone, then upgrade continuously. In order to afford this, usage fees should come down drastically, something which is difficult to do here in the U.S., due to huge debts carriers have from spectrum auctioning.

 

Surely, network equipment/site upgrades are a huge cost as well, but if the FCC weren't charging billions of dollars for pitiful spectrum increases that are only going to help carriers to an extent, rather the FCC deal spectrum more fairly, etc., carriers only big cost would be network equipment/site upgrades. So, carriers charge more, which in turn takes away from the available funds for frequent device upgrades, which then gives these manufacturers less incentive to sell their devices here. It is a major reason why there are a lack of truly innovative devices sold here in the U.S. Sad as it is, what makes it worse is all the excitement generated by the media and the carriers over the generally lackluster devices sold here, especially when compared to the excellent devices in Asia.

[Trip]

Thing is, if some of the manufacturers in Asia such as Vivo, Oppo, Meizu and others were to begin selling their devices here in the u.S., there'd be an explosion in smartphone sales growth with many more people upgrading their devices every six months to one year maximum, which really is how things should be here.

 

Do you have any market research at all to back up this wild assertion, or is it mere rampant speculation?  What gives you the slightest inkling that people are willing to do this?  I know I wouldn't as it would be a fantastic waste of money and energy, and I'm someone who likes being up to date on technology; I can only imagine how someone who just wants a phone (i.e. most people) would react.

 

- Trip

[Arysyn]

Do you have any market research at all to back up this wild assertion, or is it mere rampant speculation?  What gives you the slightest inkling that people are willing to do this?  I know I wouldn't as it would be a fantastic waste of money and energy, and I'm someone who likes being up to date on technology; I can only imagine how someone who just wants a phone (i.e. most people) would react.

 

- Trip

 

Trip, just look at the societal differences between say, the U.S. and China, for example, along with how each government allows its businesses to do what they want/need to prosper. Things are quite different in China now than they were many years ago, almost kinda like how the U.S. was back then. China has strong manufacturing and economic growth in which its citizens are increasingly becoming wealthier and able to purchase the vast amounts of new devices that get released there every year.

 

I'm not intending to get political, though only saying this from a societal perspective as I see them. People here in the U.S. are getting poorer and having their jobs taken away. As that happens, more people rely on governmental support, especially older people trying to squeeze by past a few years until they can get social security. With this as the reality for so many, people cannot afford to purchase new devices as often.

 

Now, one way in which the wireless market can maneuver around economic realities to ban extent, is for a more cooperative government to support them, in return for lower costs to consumers. If more businesses oversees saw a friendlier wireless market here, they'd be more willing to sell their devices here, with people here having more money to spend on them if monthly carrier rates were cheaper. Of course, things would be even better still if more other forms of business friendly policies with social safety standards were in place to assure people in the workplace get as fair of treatment as the business leaders do. However, this is all up to society, and I believe it is  pretty clear how things will continue to get worse the more people continue not to be able to afford these things, which also has the effect of lesser quality technology being sold here in contrast with economically developing countries.

[kg4icg]

Trip, just look at the societal differences between say, the U.S. and China, for example, along with how each government allows its businesses to do what they want/need to prosper. Things are quite different in China now than they were many years ago, almost kinda like how the U.S. was back then. China has strong manufacturing and economic growth in which its citizens are increasingly becoming wealthier and able to purchase the vast amounts of new devices that get released there every year.

 

I'm not intending to get political, though only saying this from a societal perspective as I see them. People here in the U.S. are getting poorer and having their jobs taken away. As that happens, more people rely on governmental support, especially older people trying to squeeze by past a few years until they can get social security. With this as the reality for so many, people cannot afford to purchase new devices as often.

 

Now, one way in which the wireless market can maneuver around economic realities to ban extent, is for a more cooperative government to support them, in return for lower costs to consumers. If more businesses oversees saw a friendlier wireless market here, they'd be more willing to sell their devices here, with people here having more money to spend on them if monthly carrier rates were cheaper. Of course, things would be even better still if more other forms of business friendly policies with social safety standards were in place to assure people in the workplace get as fair of treatment as the business leaders do. However, this is all up to society, and I believe it is pretty clear how things will continue to get worse the more people continue not to be able to afford these things, which also has the effect of lesser quality technology being sold here in contrast with economically developing countries.

The very thing you just said is called socialism. Sorry but the government and companies together doesn't make a good mix and never will. Get the government out of the freaking way and the economy will take care of itself. Money and jobs are scarce now because the government is meddling. One big example. The affordable care act, which made health insurance not so affordable anymore.

 

Sent from my LGLS996 using Tapatalk

[Trip]

Trip, just look at the societal differences between say, the U.S. and China, for example, along with how each government allows its businesses to do what they want/need to prosper. Things are quite different in China now than they were many years ago, almost kinda like how the U.S. was back then. China has strong manufacturing and economic growth in which its citizens are increasingly becoming wealthier and able to purchase the vast amounts of new devices that get released there every year.

 

I'm not intending to get political, though only saying this from a societal perspective as I see them. People here in the U.S. are getting poorer and having their jobs taken away. As that happens, more people rely on governmental support, especially older people trying to squeeze by past a few years until they can get social security. With this as the reality for so many, people cannot afford to purchase new devices as often.

 

Now, one way in which the wireless market can maneuver around economic realities to ban extent, is for a more cooperative government to support them, in return for lower costs to consumers. If more businesses oversees saw a friendlier wireless market here, they'd be more willing to sell their devices here, with people here having more money to spend on them if monthly carrier rates were cheaper. Of course, things would be even better still if more other forms of business friendly policies with social safety standards were in place to assure people in the workplace get as fair of treatment as the business leaders do. However, this is all up to society, and I believe it is  pretty clear how things will continue to get worse the more people continue not to be able to afford these things, which also has the effect of lesser quality technology being sold here in contrast with economically developing countries.

 

... are you living in the same universe that I am?  As I recall, China's economy is currently slowing down rapidly to the point it threatens the economy of the entire planet.  All while having the central planning of a dictatorship with the government owning large pieces of most major companies in the country.  I'm not sure pointing to China as an example is going to sell anyone on your opinions.

 

In any case, you didn't actually answer the question.  What makes you think that people are going to upgrade phones every six months just because more phones are available for sale?  I find upgrading phones to be a huge hassle, and I'm very technically literate; why would the common person want that hassle more often, exactly? 

 

- Trip

[RedSpark]

What makes you think that people are going to upgrade phones every six months just because more phones are available for sale?  I find upgrading phones to be a huge hassle, and I'm very technically literate; why would the common person want that hassle more often, exactly? 

 

- Trip

 

T-Mobile lets people upgrade to a new device up to 3 times per year: http://explore.t-mobile.com/jump-on-demand-phone-upgrade

 

Seems that enough people want it/do it to warrant the program.

 

See here for Upgrade Program Comparison Chart: http://explore.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrades

[utiz4321]

T-Mobile lets people upgrade to a new device up to 3 times per year:

 

http://explore.t-mobile.com/jump-on-demand-phone-upgrade

 

Seems that enough people want it/do it to warrant the program.

Because they let people doesn't mean that people do it. The program could exist because of its value as a marketing ploy. I think the pace of upgrades has slowed down because older phones are handling the newer os software better and people are taking better care of their phones.

 

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

[Trip]

But what's the uptake?  Have they announced how many customers actually use that option?

 

- Trip