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

[nexgencpu]

There is a ton of work going on all over the country, Sprint is doing better than fine right now(in terms of work being done). Small cells going live in a bunch of markets, Clearwire conversions, 3rd B41 carrier going online, 2nd B25 carrier going online, more B26 in certain markets that lacked it and a serious amount of optimization.

They are doing more and talking less, and that's very clear.

[Trip]

I'm not trying to be a downer, I'm calling it like I see it.  I live in Fairfax County, the most populated county in Virginia, and the most populated county in the DC metro area.  I live so close to I-95 I can hear it from my back yard and the exit ramp practically ends in front of my house, and yet I can drive less than 2 minutes and get to a site without NV upgrades or LTE, a site where T-Mobile has LTE on both AWS and 700.  (Somehow they managed to deal with it being on a power line, as did Verizon and AT&T on adjacent power line towers, so why can't Sprint?)  I can drive past that site and less than 3 minutes later I'll be in an area where I'm roaming on Verizon 1X/EV-DO, an area where Sprint allowed a permit to expire that would have filled the hole--a hole found outdoors on a highway that an exit off I-95 leads you to.  Not exactly a back road.

 

In the past year, Sprint has zero antenna permit applications on file with the county, and two granted and active antenna permits, one of which is for a microwave antenna.  For good measure, I also searched for "APC Realty" and "Mobilitie" since I have seen Sprint applications under the first name and could imagine some under the second.  None found.  In the entire county.

 

By contrast, AT&T has two or three pages of permit search results in the last year, T-Mobile has three or four pages of permit search results in the last year, and Verizon has at least six pages.

 

I'm glad to hear they're talking less and doing more, I'm just not entirely sure where else I should be looking for evidence of all this work that's supposedly being done.  It's clearly not being done here.  I have seen zero evidence of any small cells, additional Clearwire/IDEN conversions, new sites, or new B41 equipment being installed.  As far as I can tell, all work here has stopped.  If I'm looking in the wrong places, please tell me.  I want to believe Sprint is continuing to improve, but I can't find any evidence to support it.

 

- Trip

[derrph]

There is a ton of work going on all over the country, Sprint is doing better than fine right now(in terms of work being done). Small cells going live in a bunch of markets, Clearwire conversions, 3rd B41 carrier going online, 2nd B25 carrier going online, more B26 in certain markets that lacked it and a serious amount of optimization.

 

They are doing more and talking less, and that's very clear.

I can agree with that in my experience . Whenever I go to my boo thangs house, where I park is unusable 3G. As of last Wednesday I was shocked to have 2 bars LTE that pulled about 10mbps down. So in my area they are filling in gaps. Gives me hope.

 

 

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[nexgencpu]

 

I'm surprised hearing this coming from you, have you not visited any of the other premiere threads? There is a ton of stuff being posted.

[Trip]

I'm surprised hearing this coming from you, have you not visited any of the other premiere threads? There is a ton of stuff being posted.

 

Other areas don't help me, and don't allow me to recommend people I know to Sprint.  "Service is a problem in this area, but should you ever go to Kansas City, Sprint is great there!" 

 

I keep hearing that Sprint is focusing on cities; have they decided DC, PEA number 5 in the current FCC auction, isn't a market worth investing in?  Even if work hasn't started yet, shouldn't there be permits in the works so they can hit the ground running?

 

EDIT:  I'm stuck on Sprint, can't go anywhere, so no matter how unhappy I get with it, I'm not leaving.  It would be nice to be able to recommend it to others, of course, but more importantly to have a service that I'm not anxious to leave the moment someone covers the area I really need once a month or so.

 

- Trip

[nexgencpu]

Other areas don't help me, and don't allow me to recommend people I know to Sprint.  "Service is a problem in this area, but should you ever go to Kansas City, Sprint is great there!" 

 

I keep hearing that Sprint is focusing on cities; have they decided DC, PEA number 5 in the current FCC auction, isn't a market worth investing in?  Even if work hasn't started yet, shouldn't there be permits in the works so they can hit the ground running?

 

- Trip

I don't know about KC, but  NYC, Northern NJ and PA have improved exponentially. Plus I visit all premiere pages and see a lot of activity.

But is it perfect, no! But which carrier is?

[Dkoellerwx]

Other areas don't help me, and don't allow me to recommend people I know to Sprint.  "Service is a problem in this area, but should you ever go to Kansas City, Sprint is great there!" 

 

I keep hearing that Sprint is focusing on cities; have they decided DC, PEA number 5 in the current FCC auction, isn't a market worth investing in?  Even if work hasn't started yet, shouldn't there be permits in the works so they can hit the ground running?

 

EDIT:  I'm stuck on Sprint, can't go anywhere, so no matter how unhappy I get with it, I'm not leaving.  It would be nice to be able to recommend it to others, of course, but more importantly to have a service that I'm not anxious to leave the moment someone covers the area I really need once a month or so.

 

- Trip

 

Maybe it's time to find out who the regional manager/president is for your area and start escalating some of your concerns. And report the coverage holes. I would like to think they're already on the radar for fixing, but you never know. 

 

I have had some coverage issues at my house recently, and by taking the issues up the chain, I had a visit from an actual Sprint RF engineer who determined that there was a bad RRU on my nearest site, and got that fixed. Reporting issues never hurts...

 

I don't know why your particular area hasn't seen any movement, however you are not alone. Sprint walked away from 7 permitted sites here in Springfield, leaving them as GMOs. No activity since last fall. However service is still reasonable in most areas. And I have seen a little movement in KC, not much though. KC got a lot of Clear B41 and Sprint B41 when that first started rolling out, so the gaps aren't too bad and service is still mostly good.

 

That being said, we ARE seeing investment in the network, it just may not be in our backyard. Just have to have patience for that investment to begin to get spread around. The plans are laid, we know that, and they are good plans. 

[Trip]

Maybe it's time to find out who the regional manager/president is for your area and start escalating some of your concerns. And report the coverage holes. I would like to think they're already on the radar for fixing, but you never know.

 

That's... a really good idea.  I will do that.  It certainly can't hurt.

 

To your later comment about reporting issues, I've reported issues I've come across from time to time.  Unless it's something like "data doesn't work on this site" (I've done that report on my home tower at least twice) there's really no way to know if anyone's seen it or is doing anything.  Given the lack of permits, I doubt the latter, even if the former is true.

 

- Trip

[RedSpark]

That's... a really good idea.  I will do that.  It certainly can't hurt.

 

To your later comment about reporting issues, I've reported issues I've come across from time to time.  Unless it's something like "data doesn't work on this site" (I've done that report on my home tower at least twice) there's really no way to know if anyone's seen it or is doing anything.  Given the lack of permits, I doubt the latter, even if the former is true.

 

- Trip

 

Brian Hedlund: Sprint President, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Virginia Region (As of December 17, 2015)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BkHedl1

 

If he doesn't respond, or have someone follow up, you could reach out to Guenther Ottendorfer (COO, Technology) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/guengott68

[Johnner1999]

Brian Hedlund: Sprint President, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Virginia Region (As of December 17, 2015)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BkHedl1

 

If he doesn't respond, or have someone follow up, you could reach out to Guenther Ottendorfer (COO, Technology) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/guengott68

Where is this list? Please and thx

 

 

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[RedSpark]

Where is this list? Please and thx

 

 

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Many of the new Manager/President announcements as part of "One Sprint" are made in Sprint's Newsroom. I would start there and read back through the archived releases for what you're looking for.

[Johnner1999]

Found him - new guy since July....

 

 

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[Mr.Nuke]

Wow, you guys are a bunch of downers! What makes you suddenly think Sprint is failing again when the last quarterly report looked so good?

Yeah they only lost $302 million in the quarter...

[lilotimz]

And have billions of dollars in debt maturing this year and next year. 

 

Oh and they cut their CAPEX by billions. 

 

I wonder where that CAPEX money went... hmmm...

[RedSpark]

Found him - new guy since July....

 

 

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Not all of the appointments have been announced in the Newsroom. However, if you do some searching around based on the different "One Sprint" areas and market regions, you should be able to find the appointed Area President or Market President you're looking for.

[RedSpark]

And have billions of dollars in debt maturing this year and next year. 

 

Oh and they cut their CAPEX by billions. 

 

I wonder where that CAPEX money went... hmmm...

 

Debt payments?

[utiz4321]

And have billions of dollars in debt maturing this year and next year.

 

Oh and they cut their CAPEX by billions.

 

I wonder where that CAPEX money went... hmmm...

The same strategy they pursued in the late 2000s and that was terrible for their customers. It left sprint with a rotting network that had to be completely replaced.

 

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[IamMrFamous07]

That's... a really good idea. I will do that. It certainly can't hurt.

 

To your later comment about reporting issues, I've reported issues I've come across from time to time. Unless it's something like "data doesn't work on this site" (I've done that report on my home tower at least twice) there's really no way to know if anyone's seen it or is doing anything. Given the lack of permits, I doubt the latter, even if the former is true.

 

- Trip

Trip I'm having some issues in Montgomery County MD too, hopefully Brian H. Can make the DC metro area better

[JustinRP37]

I get both sides of the arguments I am seeing on this thread. On the one hand, Sprint has continued to get better with speeds, but the main problem I have had and still have is the consistency. You can have great speeds and then a mile down the road or train track have terrible speeds even with full service. These are the things that affect how people view the company. Yes Sprint is great in most locations but it still lags in many, and many of these areas are heavily populated areas. For instance, I still have issues streaming radio on Metro North coming from lower Westchester into NYC. The financial results last quarter were good but not great. I believe 2017 will be the year we see if Sprint will make it or if it will be bought out.

[IamMrFamous07]

Atlanta is Nokia's playground if you want to venture down there.

 

New Jersey used to be Alcatel-Lucents playground.

 

Chicago is Samsungs.

 

 

 

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Lol, can you spot me a plane ticket ????????

[zodiac12345]

I don't know about KC, but  NYC, Northern NJ and PA have improved exponentially. Plus I visit all premiere pages and see a lot of activity.

But is it perfect, no! But which carrier is?

Sure, NYC has improved. But to be fair, NYC was never bad for Sprint. The moment I got my triband LTE device, I would not let go of Band 41. Even if it was somewhat slower, as in 10 mpbs, it worked very well for my needs and that of my family. But the reality is that service was either bearable or great. 

 

Northern NJ was always hit or miss. Near the city I never had issues. Driving from the Lincoln Tunnel to the PA border always yielded decent connections. But the further away I got from NYC to NJ, it dropped to 3G or even 1x back in 2014. Now, LTE right up to the border on my drive. Improved? Definitely, but it took a while. 

 

Now, on PA. PA is at a stand still, especially in areas with GMO. Sure Stroudsburg is great, and so is Philly, Shentel, Scranton and Pittsburgh. But the rest of the state is all GMOs. Most of the interstates were 1xRTT up until 2012, where GMO upgrades brought them up to 3G. But between then and now, nothing has changed. East of Scranton on I-84, its all GMO land.

 

And that is the real dilemma with Sprint, its decent in cities, but the moment you leave the city its hit or miss. I mean really, T-Mobile came in and did GMO LTE and added Band 12 (where they can) throughout the state of PA, while Sprint is on 3G with no future upgrade in sight. And on another front, old areas have decent service, but new suburbs that were formed recently are served by one or two towers that were fine when there was farmland or nothing. When I visited a friend in the Philly suburbs that were built in the 1990s or early 2000s, I had poor service because Sprint hasn't added any new sites. How would someone choose Sprint when it doesn't work in their brand new home? 

 

One thing I will say that I think will be positive for Sprint to make capital is Sprint's new plans. They are the first plans since ED1500 that I can actually explain to non-tech savvy people about how much it will cost and how it works. Most of this forum and Reddit complain about Net Neutrality, but for the average Joe this is a non-issue. Explaining that you'll get worse quality when streaming youtube but still getting unlimited data is perfectly fine. Framily was confusing to understand, and the data buckets or the 50% off weren't great either, with the 50% off having many limits on plans, etc. But Sprint Unlimited Freedom truly is easy to explain. And while its not as great as ED1500, it is a step in the right direction. I truly think that this plan will help Sprint attract new customers and get families to switch. If ED1500 dies soon, I wouldn't mind switching to the new plan. 

[JDD]

 

Now, on PA. PA is at a stand still, especially in areas with GMO. Sure Stroudsburg is great, and so is Philly, Shentel, Scranton and Pittsburgh. But the rest of the state is all GMOs. Most of the interstates were 1xRTT up until 2012, where GMO upgrades brought them up to 3G. But between then and now, nothing has changed. East of Scranton on I-84, its all GMO land.

 

 

 

This information on PA and GMOs, is it a fact that it's at a stand still or your opinion? I live in an area of PA where this is an issue and have really been debating switching. I really don't want to switch but I was hoping by now things would have changed. Any information would be very helpful in helping me to make a decision.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Paynefanbro]

It was my understanding that Sprint added LTE to a number of these GMO LTE sites in an effort to fulfill their spectrum build out requirements. Whether they'll continue is unknown but I wouldn't put it against them.

 

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[Arysyn]

One thing I will say that I think will be positive for Sprint to make capital is Sprint's new plans. They are the first plans since ED1500 that I can actually explain to non-tech savvy people about how much it will cost and how it works. Most of this forum and Reddit complain about Net Neutrality, but for the average Joe this is a non-issue. Explaining that you'll get worse quality when streaming youtube but still getting unlimited data is perfectly fine. Framily was confusing to understand, and the data buckets or the 50% off weren't great either, with the 50% off having many limits on plans, etc. But Sprint Unlimited Freedom truly is easy to explain. And while its not as great as ED1500, it is a step in the right direction. I truly think that this plan will help Sprint attract new customers and get families to switch. If ED1500 dies soon, I wouldn't mind switching to the new plan. 

 

I still think the Unlimited Freedom plans are too complicated, even though they are easier to understand than the 50% off offers and Framily. Yet, Framily was good in terms of its similarities in pricing to ED1500 from what I understand of them. Sprint really needs something like that to get customers to join and stay with Sprint. For the matter, even Sprint admitted really wel to this when their former Verizon spokesman says its 2016, every network is good. That basically means for Sprint they can't get much from advertising their network, no matter how good it is.

 

Now, if Sprint got T-Mobile to merge with them, then that would be a large enough difference for an incentive to advertise network, as that is a pretty big deal in terms of difference in contrast between them and AT&T and Verizon. However, I don't think simply having a more powerful band 41 network is going to be good enough to work in advertising to customers and bringing them in on that, even though I admit Sprint's band 41 spectrum connection in areas where it is deployed heavily, is an incredible network experience.

 

Sprint needs a good rate plan to go with it. Prior to unveiling the ew Unlimited Freedom plans, I like how Sprint was going with a simple, straightforward, no speed limits here and there unlimited plan at $75 monthly for the first line and $45 monthly for the second line, and so on. Despite my preference being for a flat rate on every line, this was still better than other carriers plans. I think Sprint ought to go back to a rate where they see the most success at, which is around SERO/ED 1500 pricing. $45 monthly per line for a 9mbps speed cap/$75 monthly per line for a no-speed cap plan I think is a good Unlimited Data pricing point. 

[Johnner1999]

Not being argumentative

 

How is the new plan "unlimited freedom" complicated? It's a set price that lowers in tiers.

 

Service aside it's the best deal in town for a post paid offering

 

 

 

 

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