cletus

Would this work similar to the Network Optimizer program that Sprint uses to offload traffic onto WiMax? If I remember right it uses the 3g connection to know where you are and if that area is serviced by WiMax and if so, turns on your 4g radio. So this might use the 1900 band to find 2600 and 800 signal that is underutilized to offload traffic from the 1900 band?

Good point on the AT&T customer base. With that in mind it seems even less likely that Apple will make major design changes for Sprint, who sells less iphones last quarter(1.7 million) than Verizon (6.2 million) and AT&T (8.1 million).

I'm not sure I agree with that. Apple has historically not been a first mover in adding bands or even new radio technology such as LTE. I expect them to be dragged into triband and LTE-A kicking and screaming.

I'm surprised at the lack of cities in TX Austin/San Antonio/Houston/Dallas and no Atlanta actually seeing as WiMax is fairly well deployed in those cities

WiMax coverage in Austin remains superior to LTE coverage. It has actually sped up around town as people transition to LTE.

So, I called up Sprint and they confirmed employee discounts now apply to all lines but ONLY to the data portion as was previously posted. So some people will indeed see a bigger savings with the new setup (23% discount is roughly $7 off per line and 20% is $6). I'm still not switching until triband phones are out but if I was on Sprint (rather than Ting) these new plans would be a savings over the old ones for 2 lines.

I use Ting myself. There is a whole thread on it here http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2606-the-ting-thread/ Remember that Ting has that most MVNOs on the Sprint do not have: Voice and SMS roaming on Verizon. I actually find this the best selling point over other MVNOs. Voyager may be cheaper but the lack of roaming kills it for me. On the other hand, if lack of coverage doesn't bother you then the $30 T-Mobile plan might work for you if you never leave the city. Although my experience with it left a lot to be desired (such as reliable data coverage)

On the other hand, Sprint could continue to screw with everyone and keep their current discounting rate where it applies only to the primary line. Following the current discounting policy (for a 23% discount) wouldn't it look like 2 lines $131.60 3 lines $191.60 4 lines $241.60 Line 1 $50 x(1-.23)= $38.50 Line 2 $40 x1 = 40 Line 3 $30 x1 =30 Line 4 $20 x1 =20 Data Line 1 $30 x(1-.23)= $23.10 Line 2 $30 x1 = $30 Line 3 $30 x1 = $30 Line 4 $30 x1 = $30

So if I understand this right... for me it would be line 1: 50+30(23% off so $23.1) Line 2: 40+30(23% off so $23.1) $136.2 before taxes?

http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/10/4511160/t-mobile-announces-jump-two-phone-upgrades-per-year-for-10-monthly "For $10 per month, customers will be able to upgrade their phones up to two times per year. It's similar to what we heard earlier today, though phone upgrades won't be unlimited. Also, you'll need to wait six months until you're eligible for your first upgrade. While there are definitely some caveats to this new plan, it's a far sight better than AT&T and Verizon's full two-year wait period before customers can upgrade with a subsidy." "Additionally, T-Mobile is launching cheaper family plans: for $100 per month, four family members can get unlimited talk and text with 500MB of full-speed data per month, with no contract or credit check required. However, you'll need to put down a deposit (T-Mobile says it's about equal to one month of service) in lieu of a credit check." At $10 a month I am not sure that I would consider it but it seems other people are pretty pumped about it.

Non discountable? If that means no employer discounts then I may never come back to Sprint unfortunately. I believe my discount @ Sprint is something like 23% and that wasn't enough to keep me on Sprint without a Triband phone to upgrade to. (I use Ting now so sort of still on Sprint). Sprint really rubbed me the wrong way by how they changed how employee discounts were calculated and caused a $5 monthly increase to my bill.

if you have the cash to frequently buy phones outright then yes, maybe this isn't the best plan for you. However, if a few extra bucks a month gives you an easy trade in to the latest and greatest phone without any hassle it sounds like a good idea to MANY people. The reason? Most people tend to balk at lump sum purchases and not object to small monthly purchases even when the small monthly purchases end up costing more in the long run. That is what makes this a very interesting option.

I'd wait for the details (2:30PM ET today). Would I consider a $2-$5/mo charge for anytime upgrades provided I didn't have to pay off the 'balance' (ETF by another name) of my current phone? Absolutely. It will be interesting to see how much they charge for this.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/10/4510570/t-mobile-to-introduce-jump-unlimited-phone-upgrade-plan "The Verge has learned that T-Mobile will introduce an unlimited phone upgrade scheme today called Jump that would allow subscribers to "upgrade when [they] actually want to" by paying the same amount for a new phone that a new customer pays, as often as they like without waiting a certain number of months or years to qualify for upgrade pricing. Rumors that such a plan might be introduced were first reported first by TmoNews, which suggests a monthly fee may be involved and that subscribers would need to trade in their current handset to qualify." This seems like a really great way for T-Mobile to lure in the smartphone power users especially when combined with their pricing model. Now that I am on a Sprint MVNO I definitely see the lure of avoiding 2 year contracts and this would be appealing even to me if it wasn't for T-Mobile's swiss cheese coverage where I live. That said I am really excited for the changes this could bring to the mobile market here in the US. We've been hamstrung by high prices and contracts for far too long.

Actually, they can keep borrowing at even better rates than any other US telecom now. This is due to softbank being able to borrow on the Japanese bond market at EXTREMELY favorable rates. Even with their recent downgrade to junk status they still come out ahead on any borrowed monies than the competition.

I believe Ting does sell the Airrave (for like $250 bucks, ugh) but they may supply you with one as well if you call in and ask. Maybe if you tell them your current setup you can keep the Airrave and transfer service to Ting?

So, I did sign up for Ting after my contract ended as I plan to wait for triband phones to come out and I am actually quite happy so far. I got a promotion so I spend 90% less time driving around which means my actual mobile data use has plummeted. The customer service is great as they really do mean it when they say you won't have to wait on hold to call them. Porting #s + phones took about 3 hours total for both lines which is not too bad. My previous bill for 2 lines at Sprint with employee discount + taxes was $157/mo. My last month at Ting cost me only $74 with taxes (actually $49 with the referral code I used). That is pretty great considering I get voice/SMS roaming and I didn't have to purchase new phones as our EVO3Ds work fine for now. If anyone has questions I'd be happy to answer them. oh and I almost forgot my absolutely shameless referral code plug below. You save $25 and I save $25 if you use it. https://za8ilf19763.ting.com/

From my point of view the deeper entrenched an affiliate is to one carrier's technology the less and less attractive they are to competing carriers. Will Verizon/AT&T view Shentel as a candidate for buyout? Maybe, but then they are left with towers they have to completely rollout on. It'd be cheaper for Sprint, for instance, to pay a higher amount in the buyout than Verizon simply because the capital they need to use those towers is so much less.

The reverse is also worth asking: Why not just leave them? In this arrangement Sprint has less risk and less capital expenditure. If Shentel runs into problems then Sprint can probably buy them for cheaper than they could now. If it was prohibitively expensive for Sprint to run subs there then Sprint would do a cost analysis and determine if it is is worth it to buy them out. TBH, Shentel is probably better at running it's area than Sprint is at managing it's entire network.

Well... the speed is not a function of frequency as it depends on channel bandwidth.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/t-mobile-buys-lte-spectrum/

I think we should close this topic and rename the other topic "Sprint Clearwire acquisition news" or something as the other thread has more posts and more current discussion.

I think they should get a waiver until the concerns about maximum power for E Block are finalized.. That seems reasonable to me.

This is correct and 100% in line with my experience in Austin and San Antonio when I tried T-Mobile out. In the very core urban areas T-Mobile is great but there were times in Austin where my coverage went from LTE (admittedly they are still rolling out the network here) to HSPA and then shortly to edge. The fact of the matter is that the T-Mobile LTE rollout and their current HSPA network are incredibly limited outside urban areas and T-Mobile has NO PLANS to further expand it's native coverage, full stop. So going to HSPA was in my experience just a way of T-Mobile letting me know that I would on edge or roaming very, very soon. The T-Mobile network is very fast when you have access to it but in the case of Austin, when you even get into the east side of town you quickly drop to Edge. If you think the drop from Sprint 4G (both WiMax or LTE) to 3g was bad, try going 30 down to a roaming connection instantly. Unless you never, ever, leave the interior metro area of a city I would never recommend T-Mobile after my experience. edit: As an aside, Sensorly shows native coverage for WIMAX in Austin is close to the native coverage 2g/3g of the T-Mobile network here and Sprint LTE native looks to be about 50% more coverage than T-Mobile 4g coverage. So, yes, T-mobile doesn't have just islands it has an archipelago within cities themselves.

Wow, 36 bids already!