linhpham2

Some peoples gots to pay they's bills in cash.

 

 

AJ

And general account needs, warranty and repair and just checking out new phones. A lot of the affiliate stores only have dummy phones/display models.

So.. as much as you would prefer AT&T or Verizon, you just renewed your contract with Sprint anyway. Ok...

 

-Mike

I'm on a family plan, so my share is low.

Via a tier data plan that he complained about going over on every month.  I bet if Sprint was tiered data, you could get a bit higher speeds.   If you find that the Sprint network can't meet your speed needs, then don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.  Have fun with tier'd data and overages

I just  renewed my contract in march, so I'm not going anywhere until 2015 (I'm on a family plan, so my share is only $45/month - otherwise I'd leave) I only use about 3-5 GB/month, so overages wouldn't be too bad.

 

Besides data usage and speeds, AT&T and Verizon has more coverage, fewer dropped calls (and higher call quality) and text messages, better located stores (vs most Sprint stores are in strip malls and out-of-way locations for me), better handset selection, and entire plan discounts, (not just data re: new Sprint plans), higher customer service ratings according to JD Power. There's also a social stigma around here if you're on Sprint.

 

Otherwise, it's not too bad for a cheap, low-rent carrier.

Serious, 10mbps is laggy?!?!? What world are you living in?!?!?!  I know many people that can't get their type of wired services into their homes.  If you need more than 10mbps for "everyday use" then you need a solution that none of the current mobile providers can guarantee you!

Someone else who's considering switching to Sprint is getting speeds comparable to my home internet on AT&T: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4408-questions-about-returning-to-sprint/

 

On my phone, Advanced Signal Strength shows the LTE RSSI and %'s based on ranges defined by 3GPP (not calibrated by Sprint)

Not likely. Why would those apps be more helpful?

 

AJ

Advanced Signal Status shows more info than signalcheck

Saw this today:

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/dish-we-likely-wont-meaningfully-participate-h-block-auction/2013-08-05

 

So Dish won't "meaningfully participate", which probably means they'll do their best to drive up the auction price for Sprint.  Otherwise, it looks like the H block might be Sprint's to take if it wants it.  

More info from Fiercewireless: http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/dishs-ergen-singles-out-t-mobile-potential-wireless-ma-partner/2013-08-07

 

"Interestingly, Ergen said that bidding in an auction for the 1900 MHz PCS H Block "is not particularly attractive as things stand today." He said that auction would provide more uplink spectrum for Dish but that Dish needs more downlink spectrum, and that the technical rules the FCC made for the auction were designed to favor Sprint. "I mean, if you look at it from a big picture perspective, the way H Block is configured today and based on the rules, Sprint pretty much got the rules that they wanted for H Block," he said. "So I think it's very, very interesting to Sprint. And they're probably the one that's most likely to prevail there."

Are you serious? Most of the upgrades will be done for 1900 by the beginning of 2014. Yeah, some will lag through the middle of the year, but that'll be mostly spotty.

 

Additionally, anything over 3-4Mbps, you're fine. So long as the ping is low, any faster is not going to do you any good unless you're torrenting files or something. Maybe a little bit better for streaming HD videos, but 6-10+ is more than enough. And in many cases, you'll do better than that, even on 1900.

Sprint says they'll be done with NV by mid-2014. But realistically, it's closer to end of 2014 for everything - 800, 1900, 2.5 and small cells - or even first half of 2015.

 

As for speeds, they'll increase somewhat with the new equipment but should level off. My pings times are fairly high (50-150ms) for LTE vs home internet of 15ms. 1900 still has poor coverage, and I can't upgrade until 2015.

It may fall off some, but once the network is complete, you should see a solid 10+Mbps, and in most locations likely more. Sprint ordered scale-able backhaul, so as demand increases, they can increase the backhaul. And with 2500, 1900 and 800 on nearly every site, there's little chance that sites will be overloaded except in extreme conditions. In cases currently where speeds have taken a dive, it's usually related to the fact that all the neighboring sites are not complete, so it's shouldering a heavier burden than it will when the network is complete, or there is an issue with the site. In a few rare cases, the network is overburdened already, but the addition of the 2500 network and 800 network will help tremendously with that. 

Most of the upgrades and construction won't be done until the end of 2014. I can't upgrade my phone until 2015 - so  no 800 or 2.5 for me (unless I smash my phone). Still, 10+ mbps is still a bit laggy for everyday use.

They won't screw it up. Softbank had said to build Sprint as good or better than Verizon & AT&T in speed and coverage. Once they have fiber delivered to all their sites, it won't slow down in the future. I am getting max 37.5Mbps on my HTC EVO LTE all the time in San Diego on many of the fiber sites.

 

Can't wait for Tri-Band 800Mhz and 2500Mhz!

 

Sprint is only using a 5x5 mhz carrier for 800 lte (much smaller than their competitors). The coverage for 1900 and 2.5 isn't as good as sub 1 ghz. The speeds you're seeing is only the initial phase. It falls off fairly quickly after a few months.

The readouts on the menu bar are actually one of the features of SignalCheck Pro. For only $1.99 I do recommend picking it up given how much you'll find yourself addicted to using it. I actually gave in and finally created a Google Wallet account just to pay for that app!

 

Bear in mind that LTE signal strength is reported in RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), not RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), so your LTE signal is not necessarily as weak as it appears at first glance. I believe that as a rule of thumb Sprint usually adds about 14 dBm to RSRP to convert it to it's RSSI equivalent.

The apps Real Signal and Advanced Signal Status might be more helpful than signalcheck pro

Non-oem battery makers sell batteries that come with a charger. But the charging speed is a max 800 mah. Samsung sells a spare battery + charger for the Note 2. Its like $30.

Commentary from Ergen from the WSJ: http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/08/06/charlie-ergens-dish-has-long-list-of-potential-ma-moves/

 

"Ergen’s personal entity SP Special Opportunities LLC has been buying up debt of the bankrupt wireless telecom company and made a bid to buy it out of bankruptcy. That pits himself in a battle with Phil Falcone of Harbinger Capital Partners, which has poured millions into LightSquared. Harbinger on Tuesday sued Ergen over the move.

Ergen said Tuesday the spectrum LightSquared has is drawing his interest and also touting Dish’s ability to manage spectrum that is based on satellites.

“Because we have our history as a satellite company, we understand that part of it a little bit better and we think that fits together pretty well with what we’re doing,” Ergen said, adding. “It’s obviously a long-term play. It’s obviously something [that] has a lot of hoops to jump through in terms of a regulatory point of view and in terms of a technical point of view on the spectrum.”

As for Falcone’s claims that by buying debt via a personal entity Ergen was skirting the rules, Ergen said he would defend his actions and Dish’s.

“All I can tell you is I’ve personally followed all the rules. I think Dish has followed all the rules,” he said."

 

 

Ahhh... and Dish.   

 

Found an in-depth interview with Ergen and his options from the Denver Biz Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/boosters_bits/2013/08/dishs-thwarted-sprint-bid-made-money.html?page=all

 

"But forging partnerships with wireless companies is another a way for Dish to build the mobile network it wants. On that front, the SoftBank-controlled Sprint appeals to Dish for its network — largely due to the Clearwire frequencies it owns — and because of SoftBank’s “tremendous expertise and creativity. They seem very innovative and very creative, and they seems they’re more aggressive than others in the wireless industry,” Ergen said, adding SoftBank seems like a kindred spirit to Dish in how it does business. 

 

If anything, the tussle with SoftBank for control of Sprint left Ergen and Dish more convinced Sprint would be a good fit as a wireless partner. “We actually probably understand Sprint and Clearwire better than we understand any of the other operators,” Ergen said. Ergen admitted to being a little jealous of SoftBank and impressed by it, and he suggested that makes Sprint all the more attractive as a potential partner. “I like people who are better than us,” he said. “I want to hire people who are better than us, and I want to work with people who are better than us."

 

Saying nice things about SoftBank may not smooth over all the ill will Dish Network created trying to break apart SoftBank and Sprint’s merger. Dish Network’s counterbid cost SoftBank and Sprint billions in added costs and delayed infrastructure investment. Dish also made what Sprint considered xenphobic arguments against the SoftBank deal in filings to the FCC and in letters to members of Congress. Dish suggested SoftBank’s business interests in China, and a subsidiary’s past involvement in a U.S. bribery investigation, made SoftBank and its chairman, Masayoshi Son, potential risks to U.S. national security if they controlled Sprint. Dish was the all-American alternative, it argued.

 

So what merger options remain for Dish in the wireless industry?

"That’s really probably only T-Mobile at this time.” Ergen said."

 

More on T-mobile combo at the WSJ: http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/08/06/charlie-ergens-dish-has-long-list-of-potential-ma-moves/

 

"Ergen acknowledged that if he can’t get a partnership with Sprint, the only possible acquisition after all the consolidation in the industry would be T-Mobile. He said the “network upgrade” for T-Mobile would be “much simpler” than what needs to be done at Sprint and that T-Mobile has a “lot of momentum” amid all the industry turbulence.

“I think there’s still a lot of opportunity for us,” he said. “And I think that opportunity – certainly, T-Mobile, you could put that together with Dish in a number of ways, including acquisition and merger, and that’s probably not possible with the other wireless providers.”

I found this interesting 

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/analyst-sprints-nationwide-25-ghz-lte-network-could-be-boon-tower-companies/2013-08-01

 

This part in particular:

 

" New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin wrote in a research note that he expects Sprint's total cell site count to increase to somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 sites"

 

 

The more curious tidbit is: "Chaplain noted that the estimated new 12,000 to 17,000 Sprint macro sites will replace around 16,000 Clearwire sites that will be decommissioned." 

 

I guess that most of the Clearwire sites couldn't be upgraded to full NV sites or are poorly located to be much use.

No one except son himself could know if that's really true. Son is not gonna treat Sprint like DT treats TMO: Son is gonna nurture sprint and be u

understanding.

I've never heard of "nurture" being used in business relationships. I expect Softbank to be very demanding. Softbank only owns 80% - so maybe not to the point of a master-slave relationship though.

I believe it is highly likely that Sprint will seek money through Softbank financing due to the access Softbank has to cheaper financing on the Japanese bond market.

IIRC, Sprint's debt rating is higher than Softbank's. So, Sprint should get better terms if it sells its debt directly (rather than thru Softbank) on the japanese market.

LOL 5,000 maH battery is overkill.  I hope its a 3500 or 3600 maH battery.

5000 mah is about right for a phone with an 1080p HD screen and LTE. 3100 mah is barely tolerable now.

You do realize that the management in charge of the Nextel deal is long gone, right?

I know Gary Forsee, the ex-CEO, is gone. Not sure about the others.

Good news then. Following the Softbank purchase, Sprint has moved from beggar to Welfare recipient or Sugar Baby depending on your viewpoint. 

IIRC, Softbank isn't planning on giving Sprint any more money beyond the $5 billion specified in the buyout agreement.

At the end of the day, you're right: money is money even from an enemy. But unless Charlie ponies up BIG time - and his track record indicates he won't - it's a distraction for sprint to prop up Dish by adding another set of panels for band 24. The problem with Charlie is that he HAS cultivated a reputation of being an unpredictable poker player and no one wants to do business with someone like that ... unless Charlie's shows sprint the money ... but he won't.

Logically, Sprint should ignore Ergen and Dish. But given Sprint's management's decision history (e.g., Nextel), I wouldn't put it past them to make a deal with Dish. Beggars can't be choosers, unfortunately...

What does sprint's spectrum have anything to do with hosting Dish's spectrum?

Nothing. But they aren't mutually exclusive. I'm just saying that Dish might have some use for some of Sprint's spectrum.

Sprint is NOT desperate for revenue with daddy soft bucks. Excess 2.5? Who said there will be any excess? As Robert said, if dish truly wanted a deal to host its spectrum, it would've made a deal with sprint following the exit of Lightsquared. But dish wants crazy generous terms that not even flailing sprint agreed to, let alone current sprint. Would you like to work with someone that cost you $1 bil and $3bil in network investments if you didn't have to? Also, your statement "what are they gonna do with excess 2.5" is relevant to Dish's spectrum how? If you mean "what is dish gonna do with its AWS-4 spectrum" then I hope the answer is "rot" and lose the billions Charlie paid for those licenses when the FCC confiscates them for his failure to meet buildout deadlines.

 

Excess spectrum = Sprint has almost 2x spectrum compared to Verizon and AT&T, separately. And half as many customers. What other uses will Sprint use the spectrum for?

 

Softbank and Sprint's debt are, IIRC, almost junk-rated. Sprint needs revenue to pay off its debt, network upgrades, etc. And Sprint's overall subscriber count is still dropping...

 

Dish has spectrum with buildout requirements, there's not many options for who it can partner with.

As a partner to sprint? Sure. If he pays to sprint the $3 bil it cost it and to softy the $1 bil it incurred cause of Charlie's games.

 

That'd be on top of fees for Network hosting.

 

Charlie is desperate because he is losing to directv AND Feds won't let them merge. Let him buy Tmobile. He can't make it worse than it currently is.

Instead of cash, I'd rather Dish stays out of the PCS H auction and gives Sprint some other nearby spectrum as compensation.

 

Sprint is desperate for revenue. If it can't get new subscribers to replace those fleeing, then why not host Dish spectrum? What else are they going to do with all that excess 2.5 spectrum?

We haven't seen the last of Ergen: http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20130806&id=16778075

 

"Dish Network Corp Chairman Charlie Ergen kept investors guessing about his next strategic move on Tuesday by keeping the door open to everything from a possible partnership with Sprint Corp to tie-ups with either T-Mobile US or DirecTV. I think in an ironic sort of way Sprint becomes an interesting potential partner for us," Ergen said, as he heaped praise on the company and its majority owner SoftBank and noted that he had found out a lot about Sprint when he took a look at its books as part of his efforts to buy the company."

 

Sprint has so much extra spectrum  in a lot of markets, it might be worthwhile to see what Ergen has planned