JeffDTD

Black Wings

I really don't understand what all the crying is about either! Folks are dogging it out like its some rotten inbred stepchild from 2009. Maybe because of the red on it and the fact the other two had red detailing? Subtract the color, and you've got an HTC One with a kickstand... AND its got an microSD slot! Win! Has the average smartphone buying plebe been so confused by the onslaught of smartphone options that they base their willingness to like a device on the lines on the back cover and/or the color of it? I want to wait until later in the year to upgrade.. but I'll keep this sweet thang on my radar and am really eager to read its reviews

Micro brew

Waiting on GS III or a more mature sprint lte device. Unless youre in or near a NV market, the GSII is cheaper and darn near as nice as the nexus, esp once it gets ICS.

Awww, LG. Cute and I know folks entirely satisfied by them, as a brand. I swore them off years ago due to wild lack of quality control.... but I will be waiting with baited breath for reviews of this baby in LTE markets!!!

Sorority Boys

Does anyone have any regional carriers in mind who they think could be a "match made in heaven" for Sprint to work with? USCellular, Cspire, Leap, and Metro come to mind for me... but... Leap and Metro are cash strapped like Sprint, Cspire owns a blanket of 700mhz coverage in all the areas it wishes to service , and USC seems to be wedged pretty far up Verizon's arse when when it comes to roaming... They're all ideal roamers for Sprint's native network, but I have no idea if any of them would want to build and sell LTE with Sprint's spectrum anywhere ?

Maybe Sprint thinks it can offer the native nextel (no CDMA) towers up to some of the Regional carriers and offer to let them take the tower over with Sprint's spectrum and its own operations?

Just remember.... at least theoretically... In the areas that the regionals would use Sprint's 5X5 PCS G Block Spectrum to build coverage, although Sprint would probably recognize it as native coverage, Sprint would not proactively sell coverage in those areas... The capacity limitations would be more accurately measured by looking at the Regional carrier's customer load and adding the 'occasional' Sprint roamer. Should be plenty considering the size of the majority of the regionals. Also, in the markets where Sprint and the ideal Regional partner compete and both sell service, the regional should theoretically own enough spectrum and resources to deploy its own LTE so that in areas with a high concentration of both the regional customers as well as sprint's own native customers, both aren't squatting on the same 5X5 configuration. The other variable is that the regional carrier's own customers venture outside its home footprint from time to time.. and would be Sprint roamers. While this could only worsen the load in places like Disney World, Manhattan, etc, most of the regionals are fairly strict on their customers when they roam... they will reprimand them if the roaming is repeatedly excessive, sometimes even capping or shutting them off after a certain point. Its statistically variable... but not nearly as threatening as what they've been doing to their capacity by selling unlimited 3G to Boost and Virgin customers.

Flamingo joes

I dont think yearly upgrades would ever come back... but, packaging the ability to "buyout" a contract to upgrade together with waived activation fees every two years would be a great way to flaunt "loyalty has its perks!!" Without costing sprint much

I'm actually glad that Sprint is willing to stand up to centers that aren't meeting their metrics or quality points and can them. I'm sure they can easily absorb 300 positions in other centers. "Servicing" is a big industry in our country and obviously others ...... its something that just about every company in America experiences hiccups with at one time or another and sporadically less satisfying experiences on the customer's behalf is all but guaranteed, at some point or another over years of time. The last 5 years of my life have been spent in a call center. I am an Asset Manager, responsible for the sale and disposition of bank owned property. The large semi-national bank I work for takes customer service -very- seriously and has the rankings and awards to flaunt. While my work could be done outside a call center, my department was moved there due to consolidation. My bank utilizes 100% US customer call centers during the daytime hours and relegates some very basic assistance to a 3rd party company overseas, after hours. My point is- just being here in the US isn't the "end all" answer to our issues. There are a few things that challenge operations as a whole: 1)Pay. No company is going to be able to pay a huge premium over "minimum wage" for its front line workers and really not mid -tier either. The pay grade naturally relegates the "mean" type of worker you're going to get: Young adults (often college students or recent grads), high school only, working moms, late in lifers with no other options, etc. 2) Average intelligence/effort. This is a result of item #1. No matter how much training you give them, no matter how well their intent, their pay grade and "hourly" wages ensure that their effort and average intelligence run hand in hand. Its hard to ask an employee to give 150% when you pay them $8.50 an hour. 3) Changes/Complexity/Division: Our business , policies, and procedures change daily. It takes time for changes in policies or procedures to really sink into the entire work force. Not only that, but our operations are split into no less than 7 massive departments, all functioning independent of one another with different managerial hierarchies, separated in distance and some spread across states. I worked in collections and escalation resolution before I handled foreclosed real estate. All my departmental coworkers are of similar experience. Often, we are contacted by neighboring departments for advice /counseling on odd/unusual/rare problems We've all typically seen more "crazy" than the average minimum wagers talking to customers. The point is, those with the most experience and tenure and intelligence will never be the front line employees... if we weren't all salaried and paid much better, we'd have joined management or left the company by now. 4) Software. Customers have no idea how very difficult to use much of our software is... or just unreliable. Its a result of years of mergers and acquisitions. Customers often expect that we are sitting in front of a screen that is as simple as what they see when they're at McDonalds and they look at the touch screen being used to order their big mac. We're not. Its training intensive. After 5 years, I still learn things about these systems that I didn't previously know. Employees with less than a year of experience are usually working off of notes or "coaching" sheets they were given on how to accomplish things in the systems, not their memory. And i'm not talking about "taking a payment" or common mundane things. For sprint, I'm sure everyone knows how to swap an ESN. But the unusual items, I think you run into "I don't know" with many CSR's because that simply isn't the majority of the calls they receive. The majority of the calls many receive , I would think , are just billing, service disconnects, complaining about coverage or stores, and dumbass confusion. "My battery don't last long enough"... In point, issues that they can only apologize for, counsel the customer a bit, and send them on their way. I don't envy any sprint employees!

Ball Buster

King Kong

Class Clown

I like it. As far as I'm concerned, Sprint can "come on in" to my phone, learn about my connection hiccups, and make it better. The truth is I forget to jump on wifi at home sometimes and I don't leave it to search for wifi while at work because there is none. I would like to be able to set a timer for wifi to toggle on at certain hours of the day and toggle back off.

Plot Twist

To be exact, they're shuttering 60+ miles of highway Iden only coverage in my home state... rural po-po nowhere coverage, but they're shuttering it apparently. I've ranted a little and come to term with it already else where in the forum... Its just a wee bit shocking. In the end, if this is what it takes to survive, I accept it.... Would be interesting to see how many Iden customers will be ineligible for migration due to no CDMA coverage coming within miles and miles of them...

I'm really digging your site.. bookmarked now

Night Sweats

We can only hope Hesse feels that way! you're so right... even if its not immediately profitable to sprint, it would be insurance for their future

Assuming you believed ATT's conservative projections of how they will look when they're "complete" with LTE buildout? I didn't.

Can you tell or show us the markets where they split bandwidth with SouthernLinc?

Aren't we under the impression that each market 's network vision overhaul will be complete before they move on to another market? Common sense says they'll hit the cities first, but I seem to think you've said markets will go from start to finish before they move on? Reason I ask... The "Memphis" market clearly includes a huge swatch of north Mississippi that happens to be horribly neglected... still 1x territory and very little native coverage when you're traveling.

Damn Mississippi Market.. Oh bother.