WiWavelength

Yet, VoLTE is not as great as you make it out to be -- because VoLTE coverage is no better than the underlying LTE coverage. And therein lies the problem. Neither VZW nor T-Mobile has LTE coverage that matches its 2G/3G coverage footprint. In building and fringe area coverage are not up to par on the fragile LTE airlink. That is especially an issue for T-Mobile, which already has the reputation as the worst of the national four operators for in building and fringe area coverage reliability. AJ

In related news, T-Mobile has just posted employment ads for repo men who will go knock on doors of crummy apartments. "Hello, sir/ma'am. I'm from T-Mobile. I have to collect $xx toward your overdue phone repayment today. Otherwise, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to repossess your phone." AJ

Welcome to today... http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/6769-account-spending-limit/ AJ

I am beginning to wonder if VoLTE will become a late to market afterthought. For the hoi polloi, VoLTE will eventually become the standard. But for even the moderately tech savvy, over the top VoIP services are widely available -- and they work over LTE, eHRPD/EV-DO, Wi-Fi, etc. Apple's FaceTime, Google's Hangouts Dialer, and other third party apps. They can even work on your data only tablet. Sure, VoLTE (I believe) has to adhere to Title II regulations as a telecom service, not an information service. And VoLTE imposes QoS. But I am not sure how much that will really matter to end users. So, in many ways, "VoLTE" is already here... AJ

No, I am not wrong on this one. You, too, seemingly miss my point. Were you assessed a monthly ASL fee? Did you willingly agree to it and pay it? If so, you seem satisfied. But derrph does not. So, if anyone, tell derrph that he/she is wrong. You think the fee based ASL program is a benefit. Additionally, this is not 2009. We are six years removed from that time, and options have changed. Prepaid and MVNO options are more prevalent and relevant than ever. And if you laughed right out of VZW and AT&T in 2009, where would you have gone? How do you know that you would not have chosen a Sprint prepaid or MVNO brand, thereby Sprint would not have lost "almost six years of money"? Terrell352, you sound like an ASL success story. Good show. I like to hear that. And did I not also share my own ASL success story earlier? But we cannot generalize from those personal anecdotes that the ASL program is a success overall. Do you now see my point(s)? AJ

No, please do not jump to that conclusion. That is an illogical conclusion. And I know -- because I teach symbolic logic. Those who have poor credit use prepaid does not conversely imply that those who use prepaid have poor credit. It is not a biconditional statement. If a dog is a mammal, does that make any mammal a dog? See the difference? AJ

Many of you are missing my point. The ASL program has outlived its usefulness. So many other service options beyond postpaid are available now. And in light of that, the ASL monthly fee seems egregious and punitive. Now, if for lack of the ASL option, you would otherwise go elsewhere for postpaid, try it. If you have poor credit, the chances of getting approved for postpaid at VZW, AT&T, or T-Mobile would not be any greater. Your options would be prepaid or MVNO. For the record, I started with Sprint on an ASL fifteen years ago while I was in college. The ASL incurred no deposit nor fee, and it was lifted in relatively short order because of my payment history. If you cannot get off the ASL, I am sorry, but you are likely responsible for your situation. You are overextended or do not manage your money properly, and you present a bad debt risk to Sprint. That last point is the reason for the ASL, deposit, and/or fee in the first place. I agree the fee is excessive -- especially for people who are probably already financially strapped. But you cannot have it both ways. You cannot have subprime credit and not pay extra for postpaid. Try that with a car loan or a mortgage -- if your credit is poor, your interest rate will be higher. AJ

I am not sure I buy that. Are you insinuating that most Sprint postpaid subs have poor credit ratings? AJ

The ASL program should be retired. Migrate those ASL subs with solid payment history to unrestricted postpaid, those ASL subs with blemished payment history to prepaid. And any new subs that cannot pass the credit check for unrestricted postpaid should not be given an ASL option. These days, those credit challenged subs should be on prepaid anyway. AJ

Maybe, maybe not. That 8-10 Mbps may become the norm. With mobile users consuming so much data -- too much data, in my opinion -- do not count out the other three major operators' LTE average speeds regressing back toward the pack, as VZW's, AT&T's, and T-Mobile's LTE average speeds have already yo yo'd or decreased. In many cases, they have already fired their big guns for the next few years. This is especially true of VZW with Upper 700 MHz and AWS-1 and T-Mobile with "wideband" AWS-1. AT&T has some as of yet untapped potential with its massive PCS holdings in many markets. Sprint, though, seems best positioned to improve its LTE average speeds in the next year or two, since the PCS G block and SMR were not its big guns. BRS/EBS is the weapon of choice, and a single carrier is now coming online in many places -- with the potential for multiple carriers soon. AJ

What? Did the Patriots do that, too?! AJ

If it is good enough for Burt Reynolds, then it is good enough for me... AJ

Neal, unless you show an itemized financial statement to the contrary, you are way off, and bigsnake49 is right. Qualcomm is a wildly successful, multi billion dollar business. Qualcomm could not be that successful and have CDMA2000 royalties make up most of its revenue, since CDMA2000 operators and subscribers are declining -- as many of you like to point out. No, Qualcomm makes most of its money from selling millions upon millions of baseband, processor, or combination chipsets -- some of which are 3GPP only, some of which are 3GPP/3GPP2, and some of which are non cellular. AJ

You miss the cultural reference. A bow and arrow can provide "Deliverance" from hillbilly sodomy. AJ

If a hillbilly were to tell you to "squeal like a pig" or that you had a "pretty mouth," you would fare better with a bow and arrow than with a cellphone. AJ

Yeah, we have been discussing this tablet for a few days now in our behind the scenes FCC OET staff thread. Be aware that it is 3GPP only. So, it does support bands 25/26/41, but it does not support any CDMA2000 whatsoever -- if that matters to you. Since cellular tablets eschew voice capability, I expect to see more and more be 3GPP only. In and of itself, that is not necessarily bad -- even for Sprint. However, if you want quality Qualcomm baseband chipsets in these tablets, you may get cut rate 3GPP only baseband chipsets instead. For example, see the Nexus 9. Just FYI... AJ

In no way does that address my question and concern. Try again with something substantive. Or please be quiet. Thanks, maximus, or whomever you are... AJ

And how does Mosaik source this coverage info? I truly would like to know, but I do not think that methodology has ever been revealed. No matter. My point is this: I do not buy that T-Mobile has such extensive band 2 rural LTE footprint. TmoNews -- editor and readers -- does not seem to buy it either. The map appears to be a projection, not a current snapshot. I really wish that honest network deployment info were available for all operators. However, S4GRU is basically alone in that regard. AJ

You mean I can lease a phone to go with my Rent-A-Center couch and computer? AJ

Electronics hobbyists have long since moved online... http://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=102 AJ

With the retirement of device subsidies, users may soon be on their own for tech support and repair. They may need to contact actual OEMs or third party retailers for such services. Wireless operators should not be in the consumer electronics retail business in the first place. Even if wireless operators wish to maintain tech support and repair, physical retail presence is not required. For example, I just had a brand new handset from MVNO Republic Wireless require tech support, then replacement. Republic has no physical retail presence, so all transactions were handled online. And I must say that the Republic online associates were far more knowledgeable and helpful than were typical Sprint store retail associates. AJ

I possibly disagree. SoftBank should consider shuttering all Sprint stores in favor of increased traditional media marketing and online presence. To illustrate, I have not bought a device at a Sprint store in over a decade, nor have I even set foot inside a Sprint store in over five years. I have no need for any Sprint stores. I am sorry if I offend anyone, but wireless retail jobs are the dregs. They do not attract and cannot support highly skilled workers who represent Sprint well. Plus, maintaining nationwide physical retail operations costs a lot of money in wages and leases -- money that could arguably be better spent on marketing and CAPEX. AJ

I think the two responses may be missing utiz4321's point. He is not really asking "why?" He is posing, then answering a rhetorical question on consumer choice/value and economic rent. AJ

And, sometimes, prices may have to rise. Be philosophical. What happens when consumers want more service and faster service in more places? AJ

Apparently, stringing up multiple wires is objectionable to shareholders and building multiple towers is objectionable to municipalities. So, yes, it is similar. Try again. Who said my "idea" was doable? We should have reasonable universal healthcare in this country. That is not doable either -- because of certain industrial political factions. But it has been done in other countries. First? First! Who cares? The US could be the first country to have a nationalized telecom infrastructure. It would make sense. Other countries are not comparable in geographic size, population, population density, and wealth. Also, please solve your double posting problem. Maybe it is your T-Mobile IP address. Staff is tired of fixing the chronic issue for you. AJ