JeffDTD

It can also be impossibly frustrating to change the general public's perception on widely misunderstood concepts dealing with a network ,etc. No matter how accurate you are, they either choose not to believe you or choose to hear something other than what was said. I am never surprised that less informed employees end up lost in fact/fiction limbo.

The more I think about this, I cant see any buyout of tmo that does not include Dish. There will be considerable overlapping sites between tmo and sprint. Rather than decommissioning lease agreements, etc... why not structure a buyout that automatically spins overlapping sites to dish? Partner that with a site sharing agreement for sites where sprint was not represented, perhaps offering charlie usage and reasonable spectrum sharing. Charlie would avoid revenue sharing or cost exchange in the places where sprint and tmo had identical coverage. Spectrum would be a mess to sort out who gets what, but FCC approval becomes more likely Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Well of course. No surprise there. The loon will haunt everything sprint does going forward. Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

If Sprint and Dish have only told us they are trialing fixed service in Corpus Christi, TX, I make no assumptions about this ever being a nationwide offering. Making that assumption and then immediately assuming or wondering if Sprint can meet that goal is presumptuous. If I were to guess, Sprint is using this little exercise to trial the cooperative, working relationship that can be established with Dish as much as it is trialing the actual deployment and customer experience. Delivering fixed wireless access isn't nearly as challenging as mobile access, so its silly to assume they are doing this "to see if it works". Rather, Ergen-network has a reputation for being solely self interested and dumping/killing anything which doesn't meet his expected profit margins, no matter what contractual obligations or promises he has made. If Dish can conduct itself properly through the exercise, Sprint gains confidence that it won't get stiffed in a network hosting deal. Further, by creating an ally in Dish and growing a relationship, Sprint *may* avoid ending up having to battle Ergen for Tmo, should that ever happen. Smart move, Sprint.

Interesting, you signed up for tmo service since your original post. Bravo, tmo.

I do not condone the antics of the stores. But, if the Tmo sim is $10 online, that seems more than fair. Giving a sim to someone who is a customer is different than giving a sim to someone who is not a customer.

I find it interesting how individual ethics can be changed when something is "free". This free data should be a segueway to earning your business as a tmo customer or a customer perk, not a lie at the apple store to get a recycled sim. Anyway, enjoy for however long it lasts.

Not to mention that unless DT continued to hold a share of the combined entity, continued tmo branding would require licensing. I think the name of the combined asset's offering is simple: Spark. Spark has a symbol. Its not Sprint nor Tmobile. It could drop both magenta and yellow in favor of black and orange hues. As assets in markets are combined and service offerings improve, re-brand retail stores as Spark stores. Whatever causes the sprint name to be shed (and it will happen) needs to be big. A fantastic merger offering simple pricing and amazing lte with a new name in merged areas would be the break from the past needed. Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

No carrier can be everything begged of it by naysayers. The day that sprint and tmo independently sell a network as expansive as the duopoly and desired over the duopoly's offerings, prices will adjust across all carriers. To oppose a merger that could truly challenge the duopoly is embracing the most popular shortcomings flung at sprint and tmo by us. And btw, unlimited survived only because of sprint. Had sprint ditched unlimited in favor of buckets and throttling , tmo would not have needed to bring it back. Its easy to applaud the "low price no contract service+ come finance your device" lip service, but lip service is what it is. One may argue "but it forced the others to compete". So, now we have verizon financing devices on top of the subsidy and Randall Stephenson predicting the end of device subsidies after unveiling new "value plans" that will increase revenue for att in almost all scenarios. Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

This could be helping fund: 1)Spark deployment 2)Network expansion Otherwise, we're in "its costing more than we estimated" territory.

Sprint TV was a way to help upsell data, when it was difficult to convince customers they needed a data plan and also when Hesse brought us "everything" and increased prices. No one joins, keeps, or leaves sprint for sprint tv today. Im happy sprint will spend the money elsewhere Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

When I tried out ATT in 2012, it was the voice quality that sent me running back to sprint. I had read about but never experienced the handoff sounds and hisses and garbles that their customers become conditioned to ignore. Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

All aboard the Charlie Ergen show... he's not satisfied unless someone else is losing. Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

Lets not bait anyone over "there" to defend their sprinthate at s4gru.com. Bad mojo. Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

Not having a consumer reports subscription, I finally found an article that listed the actual scores: Overall: Verizon : 71 Tmo: 65 ATT: 64 Sprint: 59 Sprint haters love the spin that can be made from this, but considering the coast to coast disruption to the network and at least 1 less than honest NV vendor, the spread between the Tmo/ATT and Sprint is very small. Given whats going on, I think Sprint's score could have been worse. In the markets where sprint is well built and Spark matures, Sprint should run away with #1 or #2 in a few years time. Other than NV, I think the plan options could be cleaner / clearer. So many details surround that "$65/mo unlimited" tagline. My rate goes up when the subsidy is paid off even if I don't renew? Seems gimmicky to the most detail oriented. Easy fixes. Otherwise, better communication and followup about outage complaints couldn't hurt. Customers have very limited tolerance for outages, especially ones that pour over weeks and weeks on end.

AJ, I agree. To prevent my statements and your responses causing banter from anyone else, I ask you delete my statements. Im back on tapatalk and it wont delete. Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

Does the layperson understand or agree with the government threatening exorbitant fines if commercial lighting that was approved for usage is not replaced? My irritation is with ATT here. Is filing a complaint with the FCC and thus the manufacturer getting involved easier than approaching the owner and working with them to correct the issue? Maybe ATT did and we don't know about it. Anyway, I'll delete my prior "layperson" comment and trust that the FCC knows best.

I'm on my 3rd vaio laptop in 12 years... Do you really need the "flip" functionality? I've seen one and beside the obvious convenience it might offer someone, I found it a bit gimmicky.

He loses me with the typo at end of paragraph 1. Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

12-15 sites @ 2.5 to match 1 700 site? That seems flawed. I think I just heard an echo from the future (late 15- early 16) "I bought a tri-band device and have been waiting for sprint spark now for 2 years!! All we have is slow 3mb LTE access bla bla bla"

No. Voice costs them very little. Its more or less about whether the account/ line of service remains profitable. Anyone pining for an iron fist here is welcome to move to the south and get cspire service. They have the same 50% rule and enforce it with overrage charges. My brother in law went to oklahoma once for a 3 month job and in month two received $250 in overrage charges because he had no native voice or data usage. Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

Expect multiple cities across the Mississippi Gulf Coast to launch. Picayune, MS will probably be on the list too.

The number of users who have had their contracts ended due to roaming are far, far fewer than the number of users going over the stated limits. Keep in mind that Sprint does not pay the same rates for all roaming. The rates Sprint pays vary based on the partner and mutual roaming. We have deduced in the past that a Sprint customer consistently exceeding the 300mb limit on Verizon is far more likely to cause Sprint's criticism than a customer substantially exceeding it on legacy Alltel arrangements or with a regional carrier. Sprint's ambiguity here is still a pro for Sprint. If I travel or go on vacation and end up in an area with no Sprint coverage for a week or two, I like the idea of not being shut down at 300mb. I eventually return to Sprint coverage and do not exceed the limit in other months.

Best Buy pricing will almost always be better and is always rebate -free. You also stand to earn reward points from BB and for the last two years, they have offered a temporary sign up for a $50 gift card for lines registered and upgraded in 12 months. Not just that, but BB has in the past price matched other retailers. I bought the GS3 last year at Best Buy for $149.99 (price matched to the shack) with a $50 gift card after the fact and credit for reward zone points. None of that would happen at a Sprint store. You also don't ever run the risk of being forced to buy accessories when a device is launched like the non-corporate sprint re-sellers love to do.

So the delayed but first tri-band smartphone to be launched has radio/reception issues? I am glad Sprint waited to launch as far as they have, beyond other carrier launches. Folks use to speculate that Verizon's delayed launches were due to more extensive testing than any other carrier. What we don't know are the issues sprint has worked out thus far to get the G2 in the condition being observed. And I want one now