Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[dro1984]

Dan, without Nextel, they would have only 1900mHz.    No 800 and no 2500mHz.    So, they did get something out of that.    Without Nextel, it still doesn't mean they would have done things much different.    They've had 12 years or more to figure this out.   It is what it is...    

[Tengen31]

Dan, without Nextel, they would have only 1900mHz.    No 800 and no 2500mHz.    So, they did get something out of that.    Without Nextel, it still doesn't mean they would have done things much different.    They've had 12 years or more to figure this out.   It is what it is...    

Good point. Hopefully they would have gone after B13/4 then

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[danlodish345]

7 minutes ago, dro1984 said:

Dan, without Nextel, they would have only 1900mHz.    No 800 and no 2500mHz.    So, they did get something out of that.    Without Nextel, it still doesn't mean they would have done things much different.    They've had 12 years or more to figure this out.   It is what it is...    

Okay I do acknowledge though that the 800 SMR band was obviously one of the objectives of acquiring Nextel. And obviously the customer base. But I'm just really curious as to what their plans are going forward if they are not acquired by T-Mobile. Since they have connections with Huawei they may have they're supposed merger foiled. I understand that a lack of capital made them sit out of the band 71 auction but they could have at least tried to get something. Density alone won't save them. As we all know if they want to be viable they need to have a nationwide Network which really doesn't exist. I acknowledge they have densified and that obviously fixes the problem and urban and Metro areas but that doesn't mean they can't expand into more rural areas once they acquire the proper cash. That obviously maybe quite a while from now but I'm so curious to see what they do.

[dro1984]

31 minutes ago, danlodish345 said:

Okay I do acknowledge though that the 800 SMR band was obviously one of the objectives of acquiring Nextel. And obviously the customer base. But I'm just really curious as to what their plans are going forward if they are not acquired by T-Mobile. Since they have connections with Huawei they may have they're supposed merger foiled. I understand that a lack of capital made them sit out of the band 71 auction but they could have at least tried to get something. Density alone won't save them. As we all know if they want to be viable they need to have a nationwide Network which really doesn't exist. I acknowledge they have densified and that obviously fixes the problem and urban and Metro areas but that doesn't mean they can't expand into more rural areas once they acquire the proper cash. That obviously maybe quite a while from now but I'm so curious to see what they do.

I agree.  As my memory recalls, they were very anxious to get the 2.5G bands.  Then they fudged it up with the infamous WIMAX decision.    I even bought a Wimax phone, EVO 4G in mid 2010 and got to pay a $10 premium for high end data because I had a smart phone that was "4G".   Never ever did get Wimax and wasted a bunch of money on a useless device that only got 3G.  The argument from Sprint on the $10 premium data was that it would allow them moneys to deploy the 4G network.  What got me back then was not even a few months later, (mid 2008) after Sprint announced they were going to Wimax, Verizon said they were going to go to LTE.      All the neigh sayers said it wouldn't be ready until years after Wimax...   as it turned out, a little over a year later, Verizon was beginning LTE install.    All we got were "Wimax protection sites".    in 2010,Verizon had LTE up and running. Sprint promised Wimax... but it never happened.    Sprint's track record is not the best.   Many mistakes and bad choices and tons of wasted money spent.   A full 8 years later, we are all still waiting for Sprint to complete the "4G" roll out!   Laughable!   Meanwhile, Verizon is planing on shutting down their CDMA all together.   

My hope is now for the merger.   Let someone else get control of the spectrum and deploy it they was it should have been.    I firmly believe T-Mobile will.     

Edited July 8, 2018 by dro1984

[danlodish345]

I agree.  As my memory recalls, they were very anxious to get the 2.5G bands.  Then they fudged it up with the infamous WIMAX decision.    I even bought a Wimax phone, EVO 4G in mid 2010 and got to pay a $10 premium for high end data because I had a smart phone that was "4G".   Never ever did get Wimax and wasted a bunch of money on a useless device that only got 3G.  The argument from Sprint on the $10 premium data was that it would allow them moneys to deploy the 4G network.  What got me back then was not even a few months later, (mid 2008) after Sprint announced they were going to Wimax, Verizon said they were going to go to LTE.      All the neigh sayers said it wouldn't be ready until years after Wimax...   as it turned out, a little over a year later, Verizon was beginning LTE install.    All we got were "Wimax protection sites".    in 2010,Verizon had LTE up and running. Sprint promised Wimax... but it never happened.    Sprint's track record is not the best.   Many mistakes and bad choices and tons of wasted money spent.   A full 8 years later, we are all still waiting for Sprint to complete the "4G" roll out!   Laughable!   Meanwhile, Verizon is planing on shutting down their CDMA all together.   
My hope is now for the merger.   Let someone else get control of the spectrum and deploy it they was it should have been.    I firmly believe T-Mobile will.     

I do not believe that's Sprint even has coverage at my parents place. Even if they do is most likely only still roaming or swiss cheese coverage. I am hopeful at least out of the merger is approved it actually fixes the gigantic coverage within Sprintz own footprint. It's been 6 years since Sprint started Network Vision upgrades and the LTE service at my parents place is nil to none. And 3-g is extremely unusable. I would like to see the coverage fixed. I remember when I talked to the CTO of Sprint via Twitter I sent him a screenshot of a place that would make an excellent replacement site for Sprint. But I'm going to get a cheap prepaid phone and actually check out the coverage. If it hasn't improved then I'll know Sprint was just all talk for my area. And the funny thing is there is no 800 1X for my entire town only LTE and then on top of that only the main road has had the band 41 and coverage improved. So I believe nothing any of this CEOs are the carriers say until it actually happens and I noticed an improvement in the experience.

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[danlodish345]

1 hour ago, dro1984 said:

I agree.  As my memory recalls, they were very anxious to get the 2.5G bands.  Then they fudged it up with the infamous WIMAX decision.    I even bought a Wimax phone, EVO 4G in mid 2010 and got to pay a $10 premium for high end data because I had a smart phone that was "4G".   Never ever did get Wimax and wasted a bunch of money on a useless device that only got 3G.  The argument from Sprint on the $10 premium data was that it would allow them moneys to deploy the 4G network.  What got me back then was not even a few months later, (mid 2008) after Sprint announced they were going to Wimax, Verizon said they were going to go to LTE.      All the neigh sayers said it wouldn't be ready until years after Wimax...   as it turned out, a little over a year later, Verizon was beginning LTE install.    All we got were "Wimax protection sites".    in 2010,Verizon had LTE up and running. Sprint promised Wimax... but it never happened.    Sprint's track record is not the best.   Many mistakes and bad choices and tons of wasted money spent.   A full 8 years later, we are all still waiting for Sprint to complete the "4G" roll out!   Laughable!   Meanwhile, Verizon is planing on shutting down their CDMA all together.   

My hope is now for the merger.   Let someone else get control of the spectrum and deploy it they was it should have been.    I firmly believe T-Mobile will.     

T-Mobile has always acted on deploying the Spectrum as quickly as possible. So my belief is that if Sprint is taken over that T-Mobile will act accordingly and deploy as quickly as possible. Obviously there are many factors that may hinder that.

[dro1984]

T-Mobile already has the plan set.   It was told in one of the news conferences by Neville Ray.     They are ready. 

[danlodish345]

T-Mobile already has the plan set.   It was told in one of the news conferences by Neville Ray.     They are ready. 

I'll believe it when I see it. That's my attitude towards every cell carrier.

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[Tengen31]

I'll believe it when I see it. That's my attitude towards every cell carrier.

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They have been rolling things out fast. They still are behind on coverage right now. I live in a metro area yet going by there spectrum gateway shows that TMO was trying to clear B71 last month

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[Tengen31]

I'll believe it when I see it. That's my attitude towards every cell carrier.

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They have been rolling things out fast. They still are behind on coverage right now. I live in a metro area yet going by there spectrum gateway shows that TMO was trying to clear B71 last month

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[bigsnake49]

3 hours ago, dro1984 said:

Dan, without Nextel, they would have only 1900mHz.    No 800 and no 2500mHz.    So, they did get something out of that.    Without Nextel, it still doesn't mean they would have done things much different.    They've had 12 years or more to figure this out.   It is what it is...    

You're right about the 800 but not about 2500GHz. Sprint already had 30 MHz of BRS. Nextel brought another 30MHz of BRS. The vast majority of Sprint's 2500MHz holdings came from Clearwire's BRS.

[danlodish345]

1 minute ago, Tengen31 said:

They have been rolling things out fast. They still are behind on coverage right now. I live in a metro area yet going by there spectrum gateway shows that TMO was trying to clear B71 last month

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Well where I live in New Jersey band 71 as yet to be rolled out.

[Tengen31]

Well where I live in New Jersey band 71 as yet to be rolled out.

Yeah. It's not rolled out in my area, there just trying to clear it. If the Merger were to fail, I wonder if Sprint could actually buy it from Dish and Comcast in my area. Dish could 10x10 while Comcast got 5x5. If it's contiguous then they could do 15x15. If not then 10x10+5x5

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[danlodish345]

Yeah. It's not rolled out in my area, there just trying to clear it. If the Merger were to fail, I wonder if Sprint could actually buy it from Dish and Comcast in my area. Dish could 10x10 while Comcast got 5x5. If it's contiguous then they could do 15x15. If not then 10x10+5x5

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. Also yeah it's frustrating to see it so slowly rolled out. But there's not much I can do about it. Also there's the fact that the equipment capable of that band has to be add on to all the towers which I assume T-Mobile has already done. But if Sprint where to purchase dish they could get all that juicy Spectrum.

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[Tengen31]

. Also yeah it's frustrating to see it so slowly rolled out. But there's not much I can do about it. Also there's the fact that the equipment capable of that band has to be add on to all the towers which I assume T-Mobile has already done. But if Sprint where to purchase dish they could get all that juicy Spectrum. 

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I was wondering if Sprint would participated in the 700 mhz auction where vzw got B13 if that could have made vzw weaker, where they both will have gotten B13 at 5x5 each? Just a thought. 

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[danlodish345]

I was wondering if Sprint would participated in the 700 mhz auction where vzw got B13 if that could have made vzw weaker, where they both will have gotten B13 at 5x5? Just a thought. 
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If the FCC actually auctioned it as a 5 megahertz slice separate from the other then yes it would have made Verizon a lot weaker. At this point Sprint needs all the help they can get.

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[Bob Newhart]

On 7/7/2018 at 6:51 PM, JThorson said:

We don't know the reason behind it so you can't just blame Sprint. For all we know it could be T-Mobile as well.

I agree, they said it required work on both sides.

[derrph]

10 hours ago, danlodish345 said:

. Also yeah it's frustrating to see it so slowly rolled out. But there's not much I can do about it. Also there's the fact that the equipment capable of that band has to be add on to all the towers which I assume T-Mobile has already done. But if Sprint where to purchase dish they could get all that juicy Spectrum.

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Sprint could but it'll take them forever to get it deployed. You see how long its taking them to get their 2.5 out and that's their network "secret sauce." That's to be "substantially completed" but Q4 aka March/April 2019. Last I heard it was about on 60% of towers so far so why not just finish up the rest of the 40% by that time? Thankfully my market is well covered with all 3 bands. I would love for Sprint to get more low band but they are just scraping by getting out what they have now. No need to add more at this moment.

[IamMrFamous07]

11 hours ago, danlodish345 said:

Well where I live in New Jersey band 71 as yet to be rolled out.

Are TV stations in your area still using it? They can’t roll it out until then

[dro1984]

11 hours ago, bigsnake49 said:

You're right about the 800 but not about 2500GHz. Sprint already had 30 MHz of BRS. Nextel brought another 30MHz of BRS. The vast majority of Sprint's 2500MHz holdings came from Clearwire's BRS.

Hey Snake... I know they got Clearwire, but wasn't Clearwire formed/expanded from the Sprint Nextel merger and that spectrum was "sold" to Clearwire to run and manage (ie... WiMax).     Sprint still had a percentage ownership of Clear, Sprint wanted to instruct on how and when which lead to the huge dispute with Craig McCaw... and eventual buyout.   

 

One further question... what happened to all the investment from Google, Comcast, Time Warner....   all that money blown?...   Shame...

The whole thing was a money pit.    If only Sprint would have just gone the LTE route like Verizon, AT&T....

 

From Wiki:   

"In November 2008, Clearwire completed a landmark transaction with Sprint combining their next-generation wireless broadband businesses into a new wireless communications company, which retained the name Clearwire.^[9] With the closing, Sprint contributed all of its 2.5 GHz spectrum and its WiMAX-related assets, including its XOHM business, to Clearwire. In addition, Clearwire received a $3.2 billion cash investment from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks.

The new company trades on the NASDAQ as CLWR. As part of the announcement, then Clearwire Chairman Craig McCaw said, "The power of the mobile Internet, which offers speed and mobility, home and away, on any device or screen, will fundamentally transform the communications landscape in our country. We believe that the new Clearwire will operate one of the fastest and most capable broadband wireless networks ever conceived, giving us the opportunity to return the U.S. to a leadership position in the global wireless industry."

[RedSpark]

31 minutes ago, derrph said:

Sprint could but it'll take them forever to get it deployed. You see how long its taking them to get their 2.5 out and that's their network "secret sauce." That's to be "substantially completed" but Q4 aka March/April 2019. Last I heard it was about on 60% of towers so far so why not just finish up the rest of the 40% by that time? Thankfully my market is well covered with all 3 bands. I would love for Sprint to get more low band but they are just scraping by getting out what they have now. No need to add more at this moment.

Source for the 60% figure and “substantial majority” date: http://newsroom.sprint.com/triband-upgrades.htm

(Posted June 5, 2018 by Scott Santi, Head of Network Deployment & Operations)

[derrph]

3 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

Source for the 60% figure and “substantial majority” date: http://newsroom.sprint.com/triband-upgrades.htm

(Posted June 5, 2018 by Scott Santi, Head of Network Deployment & Operations)

Thanks for that!

[RedSpark]

5 minutes ago, derrph said:

Thanks for that!

You bet. Hopefully they under-promise and over-deliver on this.

[derrph]

33 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

You bet. Hopefully they under-promise and over-deliver on this.

I agree. They just need to knock out the 40% by Q4 and just put it behind them. 

[JimBob]

15 hours ago, danlodish345 said:

I do not believe that's Sprint even has coverage at my parents place. Even if they do is most likely only still roaming or swiss cheese coverage. I am hopeful at least out of the merger is approved it actually fixes the gigantic coverage within Sprintz own footprint. It's been 6 years since Sprint started Network Vision upgrades and the LTE service at my parents place is nil to none. And 3-g is extremely unusable. I would like to see the coverage fixed. I remember when I talked to the CTO of Sprint via Twitter I sent him a screenshot of a place that would make an excellent replacement site for Sprint. But I'm going to get a cheap prepaid phone and actually check out the coverage. If it hasn't improved then I'll know Sprint was just all talk for my area. And the funny thing is there is no 800 1X for my entire town only LTE and then on top of that only the main road has had the band 41 and coverage improved. So I believe nothing any of this CEOs are the carriers say until it actually happens and I noticed an improvement in the experience.

Wimax.  Thank you for bring back that memory. I had a Samsung Epic 4G.