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

[RedSpark]

John Saw can't make Masa increase cap ex. And to be fair, Sprint has had to pull back from Cap Ex because of the debt obligations of the past, debt obligations that came because of the past errors of Forsee and Hesse. 

 

I realize people are frustrated with the lack of spending and the issues that Trip pointed out which Sprint can fix without cap ex. I just  hope people realize frustration can cause cognitive dissonance and see the root of the problem rather than merely mocking it. 

 

That said, I think that the engineering people can and should lay low talking about the spectrum haul until much more of it is paired with infrastructure capability. I certainly think that is a fair complaint. Likewise, complaining about spending on RadioShack/Tidal/Pokemon is also fair when that capital could have and should have went into network infrastructure. 

 

I hope Marcelo reverses course and pulls back on RadioShack. If the real estate is good for Sprint corporate locations, do that. If the real estate is not, let it be someone else's problem. 

 

 

The Radio Shack deal should never have happened in my opinion. Distribution was never Sprint's problem. I'm not sure why Marcelo believed this and said it multiple times in interviews.

 

http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/sprint-signs-agreement-with-radioshacks-lender-to-expand-branded-stores.htm

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-16/why-sprint-wants-radioshack-stores-to-help-win-back-customers

 

Frankly, the relative "strength" of Sprint's overall balance sheet has kept this from dragging the company down too far... but all of that money should have done into CapEx.

 

How many new Macro Sites and Small Cells could we have had instead of the Radio Shack venture? Someone here knows better than I how the math would come out on that, and even a few sites in the most essential areas could have made a huge difference in the customer experience.

 

Legere was actually on point in his assessment about Sprint's Radio Shack venture via Twitter at the time (January 15, 2015):

 

When you’re on a sinking ship, don’t call another sinking ship for help! #SprintShack

 

And here we are....

[avb]

Adding small cells adds capacity without needing extra spectrum, and Verizon has been leading the way with small cell deployments.

[utiz4321]

Are these prices going down in the 2000's due to regionals being gone or is there a higher correlation to something else? I believe Verizon is doing this to knock someone off so they can keep their prices high.

That is my point. The merger of regional carriers was necessary to bring the cost down for Nation wide service. There was another round of merger between national carriers in the mid to late 2000s right before 3G was going to be deployed. Again, prices fell and the quality of services went up.

 

If we had waited until each of regional carriers had built out a national network of their own to keep a large number of players in the field I doubt we would even have national networks. Like wise for the wave of consolidation right before the rollout of 3G, prices and quality would have been fare worse. My point is the "right" number of players in the market can't be gleamed by looking at the price of the good or services they offer. You have to look at the dynamics of the industry and the health of the firms operating in it.

 

I don't think Sprint will have the resources to deploy a competitive 5g network, it is a real question if they'll be able to service their debt over the next few years. If you look at the industry more broadly it looks like a three player industry.

 

 

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[RedSpark]

This especially!!! It is frustrating to even hear about Tidal because there are many areas of the network where you cannot reliable stream Tidal lossless. And the Pokemon Go thing is just ridiculous. It cheapens the appearance of the store. If you are in business to provide telecommunications to consumers and businesses then there is no need for your store to be 'gym' for people to catch Pokemon. Also, the few remaining RadioShacks I have seen really look like a shack filled with crap. Appearances mean everything and right now if I were in charge of Sprint, the retail and web operations team would be given an overhaul. 

 

 

It's really hard to say what's next for Sprint with Tidal. I just don't see how Sprint benefits. Perhaps we'll all be surprised, but I'm very skeptical and believe the money should have been spent differently.

 

I do agree with you that Radio Shack was a poor choice for a partner. If Sprint wanted to spend money on stores, it could have overhauled some of the stores most in need, and placed a few flagship store locations in high traffic areas: Sprint would benefit from having a store in Union Station (The Train Station) in Washington, DC.

 

Here's the demographics (http://www.unionstationdc.com/info/demographics.cfm)

 

- 40 million visitors each year:

• Mostly 35 - 64, married, well-educated with income of $75,000+
• 15.5 million local residents
• 3.5 million business leaders and government workers
• 8 million tourists
• 5 million commuters

- Millions of transportation passengers each year:

• 3.8 million Amtrak passengers
• 206 million Metro riders annually
• 2.2 million bus riders connecting through Union Station

- 75% of all Capitol Hill employees go through Union Station daily

- Well educated (46% of DC residents hold Bachelor's Degree or higher vs. 27% national population)

- The Union Station patron is cultured and active:

• 52% attend theater or professional sporting events

Those are some awesome figures... and customers would pass by the store every single day on their daily commutes, or pass it when traveling otherwise.

 

Why isn't there a store located there instead of all the money Sprint invested into failing Radio Shack locations? I'm not sure... but seems like a mistake to me.

[Arysyn]

The idea was to get new Sprint retail store locations on the super-cheap. However, these Radio Shack stores were poor performers, which explains Radio Shack's overall demise... and not just because of product, but because of location. Often, the stores were in abandoned sections of large malls, or in a failing strip mall somewhere. I'm not sure how it made sense to expect a Sprint store to perform better than a Radio Shack at the same location... but Marcelo was convinced that Sprint's main problem was having fewer distribution channels than the competition. I disagree, especially since Sprint offers its best pricing online...

 

All of that money for Radio Shack store locations could have gone into CapEX for the network.... and should have in my opinion.

 

I definitely share that opinion. Less waste in store spending, higher focus online, plus network deployment.

[RedSpark]

So what I see is, you guys want Sprint to lower it's rate plans while increasing money to network buildout, and you want it done by by summer no later. Oh and while they at it give away free things. Make you guys even more spoiled brat arm chair CEO's and when they haven't done what you guys want, find someone else that will? I guess most of the current generation of people are mostly give me what I want or else, I I'll complain, bad mouth, never feel satisfied, and try to preach orders to a company you don't even work for. It's just like the company I work for too.

 

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I think the following are fair questions to ask, and I'm interested in what you think:

• Do you believe, as Marcelo has repeatedly said, that Sprint having "Fewer Distribution Channels Than The Competition" justified the expenditure of funds for the Radio Shack venture starting back January 2015? (Bloomberg Article: "RadioShack has been a key sales partner for Sprint since 1996. Sprint has 1,100 of its own stores, about half as many as its rivals. AT&T Inc. has more than 2,000, Verizon Communications Inc. has 1,700 and T-Mobile US Inc. runs slightly more than 2,000.")   Even more recently (February 2, 2017), Marcelo said this: “We've been very public that we believe that we're under distributed, so we plan to open anywhere between 500 to 1,000 stores in the next 18 months,” Claure said. “And if you figure that every store carries between six to ten people, you see where the job growth will come in Sprint and it's going to be mainly through distribution and bringing back agents that were sitting outside.”
• What has the Radio Shack venture ultimately accomplished for Sprint at this point?
• What is the ROI for the Pokemon campaign in terms of customer traffic/sales in store locations, or should that money have been used for CapEX or other capital improvements?
• Was Sprint's investment of $200 Million into Tidal the right course of action to take at this time, or should that money have been used for CapEX or other capital improvements?

[bigsnake49]

I appreciate this point of view. Sprint is handicapped by debt and that stranglehold limits options for spending or reducing cash flow. Verizon is definitely being disruptive right now. I think this really highlights why we need four carriers...for competition.

 

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Verizon has a lot of debt also, $105B.

[NYC126]

Sprint executives always talk they can build a 4G LTE network cheaper than the competition, which I find untruthful. Their vendors like NOKIA are public companies too, which their responsibility is to maximize shareholders value therefore no way those 64R64T radios will be cheap.

 

China Mobile will put a big order on those radios and since they have  a lot  $$$$$$ they will be the priority customer, and no Sprint. There is not such secret plan to build a wireless LTE network on the cheap because the companies that sell wireless equipment have shareholders and want to make money too. 

[RedSpark]

Verizon has a lot of debt also, $105B.

 

 

It's not just the debt, but the ability to service it that matters. Verizon doesn't seem to have an issue with doing that, while maintaining substantial Capital Expenditures for network, etc.

[bigsnake49]

Verizon has plenty of users on old grandfathered unlimited plans with no deprioritization with many adding the new unlimited plan. Yet their average network speed as of March 3rd is 24 Mbps for download and 7.2 Mbps for upload. Compared with Sprint's average network speed of 14Mbps down and 3.6Mbps up. Despite all the spectrum claims Sprint is still the slowest while having the least amount of subscribers. Most markets are not suffering from spectrum crunch yet, and Verizon would not make this move if it would tarnish their brand image, just like Sprint would not be showing off HPUE on a global scale if the results were not fantastic. The speed averages really do mean something along with the LTE footprint. There is a tremendous difference in the LTE footprint among the carriers.

 

In my case what's unnerving is the not the difference between 14 or 24 Mbps. What's the difference is that Sprint falls to 1x when the other 3 are still on LTE.

[utiz4321]

It's not just the debt, but the ability to service it that matters. Verizon doesn't seem to have an issue with doing that, while maintaining substantial Capital Expenditures for network, etc.

Vzw has 27 billion of operating income. There debt to operating income ratio is ~3-4:1.

 

By contrast Sprint has an operating income of ~300 million and debt of 30 billion. That is a debt to income ratio of 100:1. Totally, different situations.

 

 

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[Johnner1999]

But they aren't handicapped by spectrum. Where Verizon and next T-Mobile are.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-06/verizon-s-reliable-reputation-on-the-line-in-coming-data-deluge

 

 

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Yeah but it's like saying I have a Ferrari in the garage. But no money left for insurance nor gas.

 

Only thing it's good for is to sell off

 

Fyi no prancing horse for me

 

 

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[bigsnake49]

Adding small cells adds capacity without needing extra spectrum, and Verizon has been leading the way with small cell deployments.

 

Not to mention that the other three are getting ready to take advantage of shared spectrum in the 3.5 and 5GHz using LTE-U or LAA.

[kg4icg]

Not to mention that the other three are getting ready to take advantage of shared spectrum in the 3.5 and 5GHz using LTE-U or LAA.

You mean the unlicensed low power same as you get out of your Wi-Fi spectrum

 

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[bigsnake49]

You mean the unlicensed low power same as you get out of your Wi-Fi spectrum

 

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First of all WiFi is not deployed on 3.5GHz. The 5GHz one will have to be shared with WiFi.

[jamesinclair]

WTF have they done to the website. It has gone from bad to an unusable mess. It just had me sign on 3 times, it flickered back and forth between the old and the new inter phase, I was forced to enter an 8 digit code twice, and now apparently 15 days into my cycle Ive sued 0GB, 0 minutes, and 0 texts.

[Hypeo]

WTF have they done to the website. It has gone from bad to an unusable mess. It just had me sign on 3 times, it flickered back and forth between the old and the new inter phase, I was forced to enter an 8 digit code twice, and now apparently 15 days into my cycle Ive sued 0GB, 0 minutes, and 0 texts.

It's called maintenance and most websites go through it at some point.

 

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[jamesinclair]

It's called maintenance and most websites go through it at some point.

 

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Maintenance is "sorry the website will be down from 1am to 4am"

 

This is a horrible mess.

 

I finally got to where I wanted to...services. Took 2 extra screens to reach and the page itself is in the old format.

 

Who updates a website page by page?

[RedSpark]

WTF have they done to the website. It has gone from bad to an unusable mess. It just had me sign on 3 times, it flickered back and forth between the old and the new inter phase, I was forced to enter an 8 digit code twice, and now apparently 15 days into my cycle Ive sued 0GB, 0 minutes, and 0 texts.

 

 

Yup. The website is totally unusable. It makes you sign on multiple times when navigating between sections. It's a jumble of an unreadable new interface and a readable (but stale) old interface. There are many sections which have out of date or flat out wrong information.

 

In fact, if you look at the new interface, you can see the old interface lurking behind it when loading. It's a sad state of affairs.

[RedSpark]

It's called maintenance and most websites go through it at some point.

 

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This isn't from maintenance. It's likely due to conflicting project managers, limited funds and inadequate testing.

[jamesinclair]

Yup. The website is totally unusable. It makes you sign on multiple times when navigating between sections. It's a jumble of an unreadable new interface and a readable (but stale) old interface. There are many sections which have out of date or flat out wrong information.

 

In fact, if you look at the new interface, you can see the old interface lurking behind it when loading. It's a sad state of affairs.

 

Yes I noticed that! It loads the old interface and a second later the new one pops on top. I've never seen that anywhere before!

[kg4icg]

First of all WiFi is not deployed on 3.5GHz. The 5GHz one will have to be shared with WiFi.

It is low power FCC part 15 unlicensed spectrum which means the same power levels as your typical Wi-Fi

 

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[WiWavelength]

Welcome to S4GRU minus 4GR. SU aka SprintUsers.

 

Thanks, everyone, for switching to other providers but sticking around to run yet another forum down into the ground.

 

AJ

[RedSpark]

Yes I noticed that! It loads the old interface and a second later the new one pops on top. I've never seen that anywhere before!

 

 

At some point, I hope the old website content behind it can be removed.... but if they've merely put a new style layer over the old website, the old content may not be able to be removed.

 

It's crazy to see the site load twice in certain sections.

 

I have to say that the most poorly designed section has to be the "My Devices" Screen, with the big graphical blocks. We have 8 devices on our account and viewing all the devices at one time is pretty difficult.

[Johnner1999]

Yes I noticed that! It loads the old interface and a second later the new one pops on top. I've never seen that anywhere before!

I believe it's what you do to spruce it up before a sale.

 

 

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