ChadBroChillz

 http://www.nasdaq.com/article/softbank-set-to-invest-16-billion-at-sprint-20130707-00017

Did the earnings call mention anything about expansion? I am still wondering what Masayoshi Son meant about matching Verizon's high speed coverage. 

Realistically, I could see Apple taking the parts out of the iPhone 5 and branding it with the iPhone 5C (rumored name for iPhone 5 Colors), just like they've done with the iPod Touch (with the last iPhone Generation's Ax Processor & Camera), and not making the iPhone 5 anymore. They probably have some supply chain inventory to move, so dropping a phone motherboard + chipset in the new colored plastic shell seems like an easy way to get rid of component parts and move into emerging markets.

 

If they go off-contract for $200, that just made getting testing devices for iOS development easier. 

Apple is trying to go for the lower end market, but not that low. those 200 dollar off contract devices have razor slim profit margins, I believe Apple would rather not compete than make a device for "scraps". The new iPhone 5C will probably be in the 300-400 dollar off contract range. 

I don't care much about the carrier aggregation or OFDMA uplink features, but are NV 1.0 at minimum 4x4 MIMO capable? The spectral efficiency benefits there should be large.

According to the Iyad Tarazi, NV is capable of 4x4, but I believe that is apart of the LTE-Advanced phase. 

I have a question about TD-LTE.  My understand is that we believe that Clearwire's network uses 4:3 downlink to uplink ratio for their time slots. I am wondering if it would be possible for Sprint to adjust the ratio to reach 100+Mbps without needing to add another 20Mhz. 

TD lte is LTE A.

Clearwire's LTE network is LTE-A ready.

*crosses fingers for Triband Note 3 or iPhone 5S*

Sprint's Everything Referral Plus Plans are back on the Sprint.com/sero website.  They are show next to the new All My way plans. 

I guess the whole " the sky is falling" was for nothing. 

Sprint should not overpay for any more spectrum (including PCS H).  Demand is not going up nearly as high as originally predicted and Sprint is sitting pretty well with what they have.  Also US Cellular has a lot of Spectrum (AWS/Cellular) that Sprint would probably sell.  Let these companies continue to dwindle and buy up their spectrum when the yard sale starts.

 

nTelos - Just buy the BRS from whoever buys them.

Softbank's CEO Masayoshi Son mentioned matching Verizon's high speed coverage. I do not believe they will be able to meet that claim without buying most of that coverage.  Also, USCC sold most if not all their AWS to T-mobile. They only have 700A/B/C, 850Mhz, and 1900Mhz, which Sprint has already mentioned supporting for roaming. 

Considering that Ntelos is already a Sprint Rural Alliance member, I believe Sprint will just buy the whole company instead of just the licenses. 

Just curious if anyone knows the answer: Clear has already installed 2500 MHz LTE on some of its sites (don't recall the exact number).  Will these new hotspots be able to pick up LTE from these sites, or will they have to wait for a later-date Sprint re-implementation of LTE 2500?  Also, has Clear used the dreaded Huawei LTE hardware on all of the sites they have implemented so far (which would render my first question irrelevant)?

I do not see why they would not be able to pick them up, but Sprint/Clearwire could be blocking access to these sites until a later date.  I believe Sprint will follow a more traditional rollout for LTE on 800 and 2500(if they plan a nationwide rollout). 

I disagree. Leap integration would be a breeze: push out new PRLs to transfer CDMA traffic to Sprint network and then shutdown Leap's CDMA network. Poof! OPEX reduced while still having the revenue from new subs.

 

The hard part will be Leap's LTE network. Leap uses AWS (Band 4) so Sprint would need to maintain that network until all subs upgrade to a Sprint LTE phone.

 

Then, Sprint would turn around and sell the AWS or trade it for more PCS. Verizon would love more AWS and it could definitely afford it. TMO is not spectrum constrained but they MAY buy SOME. ATT is a wildcard: it has AWS but it has deployed it - cause it lost so much on TMO breakup - but all its phones support AWS so it could decide to buy.

 

It's like the TMO-Metro merger but mirrored: Sprint's 3G spectrum is compatible with Leap's while its LTE is not.

 

I don't think Sprint is gonna buy Cspire. Cspire is well on the way to deploying AWS LTE but it may be much farther along than Leap.

Cspire has partnered with Sprint for LTE roaming on 1900 i believe. I think Cspire and USCC are likely acquisitions for Sprint. If Masayoshi Son is going to keep his goal of Verizon Coverage by end of 2015, then  he is going to have to acquire some coverage. 

They are probably only available via phone/store now, so their reps can try and convince people to pick the new plans.

This sort of thing was inevitable, but it would be a better situation for new customers if NV were finished first.

 

What really worries me is the video throttling. I sometimes watch a show on Netflix while sitting at the dog park. Sure, I could watch the dogs the whole time, but they lack imagination and things get pretty repetitive. Anyways, 1mbps isn't even at the recommended bandwidth for broadband from Netflix. 0.5mbps is the minimum, and 3mbps is required for DVD quality. I realize that I could use a VPN to get around this, but not everyone has access to one. Isn't 1mbps just a bit low for an arbitrary throttling speed for video?

 

Another question is will they throttle video when a phone is being used as a hotspot?

I am pretty sure that is referring to streaming to your TV, and not a mobile device.

 

 

 

2 lines with smartphones on unlimited data plans.

 

$160 MRC(with EIP) will give you Unlimited talk, text, and web on T-Mobile, along with 500MB tethering data per line.

$190 for 3 lines.

$220 for 4 lines.

$250 for 5 lines.

 

$150 MRC will also net you Unlimited talk/text/web on Sprint, but w/o any included tethering, plus the 1Mbps streaming data throttle to keep in mind...

$210 for 3 lines.

$260 for 4 lines.

$310 for 5 lines.

 

 

 

-Xavier

These numbers are off

Sprint's pricing doesn't work like that.

 

Line 1 is $50, +$30 for Unlimited Data.

Line 2 is $40, +$30 for Unlimited Data.

Line 3 is $30, +$30 for Unlimited Data.

Line 4 and 5 are $20 each ($40), +$30 each (+$60) for Unlimited Data.

 

That's a total of $310. So $100 more than T-Mobile's plan.

 

On the plus side, you can go all the way up to 10 lines for that $50 each...

So with EIP, they come out equal?

The first way you calculated it.

First line is 50

Second line is 40

3rd line is. 30

4-10 is. 20. Each

For each line you add the type of data you want

Unlimited is 30 per line

1gb is. 20 per line.

No data. 00 per line.

RIP Thread

You will be missed.

I have a feeling that Sprint is going to either partner or acquire most of their new coverage from CCA members, if Masayoshi Son's plan is to match Verizon's current LTE network coverage. 

500mb full speed but unlimited 160kbps internet which may be faster than legacy Sprint 3G depending on your area.

 

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk 2

Did they boost the throttle speeds? When I was a Tmo customers, it was 60kbps, but that was some time ago. 

My situation: two iphones, one texter.

 

TMO: 

50 + 30 + 10 = 90 for plan

20 + 20 + 5 = 45 for the phones

Total: $135

 

Sprint:

Everything Data Family 1500

$170

 

Too big of a difference.

Is it possible Sprint will give me a discount if I call and say "I'll pick you over Tmobile if you give me $20 discount"?

You are comparing Sprint's unlimited data plan to Tmobile's  500Mb data plan. 

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/softbank-set-to-invest-16-billion-at-sprint-20130707-00017

Softbank Corp. (9984.TO) is planning $16 billion in capital spending at Sprint Nextel Corp. over the next two years, President Masayoshi Son said in an interview, as his company seeks to make the U.S. mobile phone carrier a more serious challenge to top rivals, the Nikkei reported in its Monday morning edition.

 

Under Softbank, the pace of investment at Sprint will more than double. Most of the roughly Y1.6 trillion in spending will go toward base stations for Sprint's high-speed LTE network. Softbank is also adding base stations in Japan. It reckons its Sprint takeover, recently approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, will lower costs through economies of scale, not only in network infrastructure but also in smartphone procurement.

 

If the network isn't good, customers are going to complain, Mr. Son said, adding that Sprint will seek to pull even with Verizon in high-speed coverage in about two years.

Uhh no it doesn't.

It shows TMO native plus metro pcs. See how Michigan is only half covered? If you look at the post paid map, it shows roaming for other half of Michigan which is not shown here.

 

This map most definitely only shows TMO native

I think their is some confusion. The map I posted shows T-mobile's native coverage with Metro coverage. The map you posted from the prepaid coverage checker shows Native + service partners.( you can tell by zooming in all the way, then it changes the legend to show service partners)

I think I've "figured out" whether Tmobile will expand LTE to more than their current 225 mil HSPA+: yes, it will.

 

Reason: competition.

a) Sprint - by mid 2013, they'll have 250 million or 277 million

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/files/download/13-sprint-network-vision-handout/

pg 16/21

So through their Boost and Virgin brands, they'll have an advertising advantage against Tmobile.

 

Virgin: $55 - unlimited talk, text, 2.5 GB full speed data

Tmobile: $50/60 - unlimited talk, text, 500MB/2.5GB full speed data

 

Whether it's gonna be 277 or 250 million final LTE coverage is gonna be big in terms of the "BOOM!" advertising factor but even if it's "only" 25 million it'll be hard for TMO to compete.

 

But if Tmobile won't expand because of Sprint's 250 or 277 mil advantage then they will expand their LTE because of the big dog

 

AIO wireless aka ATT - AIO is owned and operated by ATT and will have geographic access to ALL of ATT's network.

 

[I'm pretty sure this is relevant to this discussion cause we're talking about why or why not Tmobile will expand their LTE footprint]

 

AIO - $55 2GB full speed (and unlimited talk, text)

Your LTE speeds are limited to 8mbps even during the "full speed" portion

 

TMO - $50/60 500MB/2.5GB full speed (and unlimited talk, text)

 

 

BUT ATT's gonna have 270 million with LTE end of 2013 and 300 million end of 2014

 

Now, TMO can't do anything about that 300 million number until 600 MHz is available for activation but at the very least . . .

 

Look at its native map for data (which is the same as its prepaid data coverage)

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-coverage

 

TMO covers 225 mil with HSPA+ TODAY in the green areas - once you zoom in enough - then imagine how many people TMO covers today with its entire footprint i.e. when you include the 2G! 

 

If it simply upgrades ALL current towers to LTE, it'll have a fighting chance against AIO but if it doesn't . . . . then I can only assume that their strategy is to force the FCC/DOJ to let ATT or Sprint purchase them.

This is Tmobile's real footprint

That map includes roaming partners.  

I just hope sprint can keep the avg speeds up than peak speeds like Verizon loves to scream. Though that doesn't do any good if your day time speeds are like this:http://www.speedtest.net/android/501976820.png

 

Yep that was with near full signal too. taken in SC at the beach.

 

Also waiting on tri-band phone/LTE to work in my city.

 

I will have to say t-mobile in the bigger citys is likely in the best place right now for data speeds. (Could be wrong though.)

 

Edit: A bit offtopic, but how much is Softbank going to pay per share for sprint?

 

Thanks

Softbank is paying 7.65 per share.