JeffDTD
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Everything posted by JeffDTD
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5 years? Are we really interested in a mvno that needs 5 more years in the oven? Keep dreaming about 2020, I guess. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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If Tmo has usable LTE everywhere that their map claims, then the map prob does cover 290M pops. But that "if" is a pretty big one Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Hopefully. But history also tells us that Verizon may just adopt the $15 activation fee on financed devices and indulge a new nickel and dime duopoly norm. Verizon's already ditched the "trade in for a new device" part of its device financing program, so ATT can still go farther.
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That shouldnt be a surprise for anyone who is tuned into Ergen's ways. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Sprint could have dropped those sponsorships years ago without any impact on the company's perception or growth. That money is better spent on innovative projects like "Direct to You" or sponsoring and promoting at the local level in cities and regional areas where the network is really shining right now.
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As are many other unlimited legacy plans. But this new offering is cheaper than any prepaid or postpaid data offering I am aware of, in the realm of limited data options. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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4 Lines @ 10GB each for $30 per line... or $40 per line for 20GB? http://explore.t-mobile.com/simple-choice-family-plan-with-10gb-data Reminds me of Cricket. Could cause some similar competition.
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I never forgave them for the grab and dump they did with Danger, the company behind the original Sidekick. Great hardware + android has a chance under the name "nokia". So long as microsoft doesnt come sniffing around a carrier... Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Can anyone speak to the accuracy of the LTE coverage on the Fi maps ? In my hellhole of a state, the Fi map seems to mostly only show Sprint LTE and show only Tmo hspa or less. We know that the Nexus should have access to all Tmo LTE. I raised this question when Fi maps came out along with others, but havent found any user feedback anywhere thus yet. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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If Son is convinced that 600mhz winnings must be substantial, could Softbank show up and bid on the unreserved portion independent of its subsidiary (sprint)? Its really not a matter of access to funds, with or without debt, for Softbank. Son could wipe the floor with everyone else, if he was convinced it was a worthwhile investment. So the MIL$ question remains, whats he thinking... Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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The word "competition" means a variety of things. For some , its the price regardless of quality. For others, quality narrows the field and price decides when there is similar quality. For a shareholder, competition can be an ugly word in a saturated industry. As quality and speed become an increasingly important metric for a wireless consumer, its wrong to consider the pricing environment a result of "healthy competition". For the smaller guys without the scale of the big two, its desperation. I think we have seen sprint and tmo " hit the bottom" on plan pricing. It cant get much cheaper without a huge influx of new customers to justify deeper discounts. My point is this: Unless the little guys can go even cheaper while sustaining -unsustainable- network expansion and spectrum costs, we aren't going to see Verizon or ATT be much more aggressive with pricing. Why? They dont have to be. Their shared data buckets are working. If competition means we get to watch sprint and tmo continue to slap scraps off of each others starved carcass, then 4 carriers is great. But im ready for a carrier that has the network, scale and pockets to drive the big guys far closer to their bottom. We have only scraped the surface thus far Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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Since you agree with Josh and youre a Tmobile customer, I volunteer you to write a net neutrality complaint to the FCC on Tmobile's music freedom. We all agree it treats data allotment and speed differently based on the application used. What if you're 15mb from exceeding your data limit after a blistering month of uploading facebook pics? Lets assume a user is deaf or just doesnt like music. Is it fair that music fans get to keep going without limit while youre throttled or billed overrages while surfing and farming? Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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I gathered that your concern was rooted in conflicting answers given by care. I suggested using a department created to address elevated customer concerns. In the end, they will be who you talk to anyway. If you perceive that means I am in a "love affair" with sprint, and we are talking about affairs, then there's a stranger in your house. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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If you're an average, uninformed consumer who likes to quiz random sprint reps and hang on every answer, then the FCC and the BBB are fair game for you to bring any and all of your concern or contempt for Sprint. I would expect the knowledge base of an S4GRU member to be better than average. And if an S4GRU member takes that route because of something front line care said, then the complaint could be argued as more a desire to complain than an actual need for assistance. In the future, if you don't like answers you get from front line care, you might try the executive care hotline first instead of growing Sprint's FCC or BBB numbers,
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What would you do if Sprint eliminated "unlimited" data? Poll thread.
JeffDTD replied to dedub's topic in General Topics
And the math putting Tmo at $3.80 a gig is flawed if we are comparing to the big two because of the required "line access fee" of $15 or more. Pricing the data portion only at Tmo is more like $65 or $3.09. That is the best pricing "per GB" in the industry- And just like truly unlimited at Sprint, hard to sustain if every user single bumped up against the soft cap. Reality will befall Tmo and Sprint users eventually, regardless of how irrational they are about how far "unlimited" should go. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk -
What would you do if Sprint eliminated "unlimited" data? Poll thread.
JeffDTD replied to dedub's topic in General Topics
A big, aggressively priced bucket of data with a bit more roaming data could bring all of my family's lines home to sprint. I'd rather be limited and enjoy a better network and more seamless roaming than unlimited with all the asteriks Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk -
It's an entirely unreasonable vestige of wireless past. Accessories can't be walked back into best buy, walmart or target 11 months later and replaced "cause I bought it here!" Accessories are usually overpriced at the carrier anyway, which is perhaps why folks have felt entitled to the crazy return policy Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
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I agree. Thus far, all the writing about Comcast wanting to acquire a wireless company has been speculation based on the Direct TV acquisition. Comcast had and exited a partnership with Sprint years ago and they continue a cross-sale agreement with Verizon, though Verizon has mentioned in one of its "we don't want to buy Dish" conversations that bundling wireless and cable together was not as profitable as speculation grants it. With the ownership of NBC/Universal and ownership of so much wired broadband, I'm not sure a Comcast purchase of Tmobile is a homerun with the FCC either. It needs heavy scrutiny. Scrutinize backhaul pricing and licensing fees charged to other companies to access NBC/Universal media. And regulate customer pricing. Comcast loves to bait its customers with 6 or 12 month pricing and then crank up the rate and pack access and rental fees on like no other. Anyone complaining about Sprint surcharges needs only to take a gander at a comcast bill. Will also need to guarantee that Comcast continue to offer wholesale pricing to MVNO's ... Absolutely nothing this company does is customer centric or focused on anything but profit. Would be the end of me ever considering Tmobile service. I can't even access a printed bill history on comcast.com anymore. I'm on digital billing and that used to mean that the bill was downloadable like a pdf and not mailed... well, comcast revamped the website and did away with that feature. The bill summary pops up and once you pay it, poof bill summary gone.
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I cant separate Wheeler's telecom lobbying past from his suitability/objectivity to make these decisions. Regardless of party, we could just as easily get another personality with a full resume of sympathy or maybe even - direct responsibility- for placing so much low band spectrum in the hands of the big two or providing consent to their mergers and acquisitions. Washington is full of ATT /Verizon sympathists from both parties. It's not a party matter as much as it is $$$ matter. The risk of Tmo/Sprint working together on a network represents the most significant threat to the balance of power in wireless. It's rather exciting, actually
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I brought up 2013 data about Dish being considered one of the meanest employers in America. Glassdoor has more than 2100 employee reviews about Dish http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/DISH-Reviews-E4501.htm Ergen's management style is well documented. John Legere may continue for awhile as a face and a mouth for the public, but a buyout or a merger that leaves Ergen at the top will result in an Ergen agenda. The idea that Legere will save the day is wishful thinking by T-Mobile fans. This doesn't necessarily doom the customer experience though. Dish ranks respectively with JD Power and Consumer Reports Television Service rankings, usually above the industry average, albeit a hated industry, much like wireless. The real question is whether or not the unlimited/ "everyone gets a prize " incentives will grow or diminish once the ship has Ergen's frugal fingers on the wheel.
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I hope we can revisit these conversations if Ergen is successful at making Tmobile his new excellent adventure. So many awesome opportunities await for him to fight with vendors over pricing, drop or alienate handset makers over features or device fees, and scrub Tmobile of every single superfluous financial decision it has made or could make going forward. Meanest employer in America? http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/01/08/dish-network-the-meanest-employer-in-america How does innovation thrive under practices that result in unhappy employees? Do you cross reference it to Steve Jobs being mean to people and getting results or is it more appropriately compared to Microsoft's historical "stack ranking" (rank and yank) system and the innovation that thrived as a result? Ergen's admirable talent is bending and breaking the rules for the purpose of saving money. And to be fair, that sometimes has good results (Lightsquared spectrum, Hopper, Sling, shell companies bidding in the AWS auction to save 3B ) Perhaps he really will get a network deployed for less money? Reminds me of a story an installer told me years ago about installing for Dish. Apparently, at that time, he didn't get full payment from Dish for the installation for 30 or 45 days and if the customer cancelled the account within that time, he got nothing. Wasted time. I had no pity because he had obviously agreed to work under those conditions.
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There was also an article yesterday before this news from DT that speculated that Ergen was more interested in flushing out all the potential bidders for TMo as a means of finding its "actual value" and then would be likely to either pursue a limited partnership or tie dish into a three way deal of some sort. And to me, that sounds more like the Charlie we know. Remember, it took Sprint's announcement that it was being sold for him to climb the fence, jump and declare he wanted to buy. It also took him seeing what Softbank was going to pay before he felt good about an offer price.
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I don't understand the statement " We think that Sprint will have value as the last remaining wireless independent asset in the U.S. " What makes sprint more independant than Verizon? AOL is a media company, but its not a content carrier the same way Dish or Direct would be. The path to sprint growing its access to digital and broadcast media doesn't require a mega merger or troves of cash. And of all the carriers, Sprint -actually- has the airwaves to realistically pursue fixed content delivery over wireless. I suspect the statement is more motivated by the idea that Softbank remains some kind of silent, deadbeat parent.
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Yes, but the numbers that get advertised in support if either scenario will be lower. Expect to be told of synergies, savings and restructuring of long term debt. Support of the deal will likely focus on the debt relative to equity, because the debt will be acceptable relative to value of equity/assets. Debt doesn't tell the whole story. The -projection- of how the new entity will fund participation in a new spectrum auction and the network expansion that Ergen has said he envisioned for Sprint and more recently "T-Mobile....needs to be in more places" will be of particular interest. Should a deal be made, final approval and closing of that deal probably happens in early to mid 2016... Right before the infamous 600mhz auction is apparently to be held.
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Rough rough numbers: The combined entity appears to be looking at an immediate long term debt load around 49B and equity somewhere between 17 and 18B. Tmo's equity position better than Dish's on paper, but Dish numbers may not include all of the assets that Ergen has amassed through separate entities. Will be interested to see what kind of combined cash on hand the new entity is projected to have and exactly how Ergen intends on financing the 35B+ we know Softbank was going to have to come up with to buy out DT. I always expected Ergen to want more of a partnership and a seat at the table than an outright acquisition or the creation of a new entity. He is the kind of person who assesses risk and then immediately assumes the "worst case scenario" as a means of negotiating a better price. I think we're weeks away from hearing that there is a merger or acquisition agreement.
