GinaDee

I can't say with certainty that you are right or wrong but that's a pretty ballsy statement. There are a lot of implied assumptions on your part that Sprint will be better than the rest and the other carriers will have had no further network upgrades or expansions (particularly Verizon). It's not that easy to build out these newer networks and with the NV delays Sprint knows first hand that completion dates have to keep being pushed out due to un-forseen circumstances. IMHO it's going to boil down to money and commitment. When the heat is on carriers will either use free unpaired spectrum or carrier integration to accomplish similar goals. At work we're a big Verizon house but AT&T has been courting us to be a huge integrator partner. They showed us slides panning Sprint/Softbank at a big disadvantage and showed their plans for carrier integration (using excess cellular and PCS spectrum), heavy participation in new spectrum auctions, cell site density, DAS/small cells, newer remote radio heads, strategically placed antennae etc... were going to give AT&T a better LTE experience than Verizon or Sprint. T-Mobile came to us and basically did the same thing... T-Mobile made it a point to paint Sprint as incapable of executing... blah blah blah. When we met with Verizon directly they laughed and made it sound like all the other carriers are so far behind them that they will never catch up.. and if they somehow do Verizon will already be on to the next big thing. In my area of SoCal all 4 national carriers have LTE at least south and west of the local mountain ranges. AT&T right now performs the best in terms of density and speeds. Verizon wins on absolute coverage. T-Mobile is fast in certain spots but very spotty. Sprint's LTE is a bit slow right now but they have more LTE local coverage than T-Mobile.

Sprint has been making promises of improved coverage and reception for years. Lately the canned response to a complaint about coverage or speeds (anywhere in America) is that NV is coming or in process of coming. There isn't such a thing anymore that coverage or speeds just suck. You really can't blame anyone for being cynical. Average customers don't read sites like this nor do they keep up with Sprint network upgrades or improved network performance "on the way." NV seems really important to Sprint because they are now starting to do what other carriers have already been doing for years including investing the CAPEX necessary to modernize their network. It seems a lack of cash and the worst management in the industry hurt Sprint. Hopefully if Softbank is serious they will turn the ship around and allow Sprint to better compete in the world's toughest market. I was bothered the other day when I read that NV progress has been delayed again. It's setback after setback for Sprint. http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1806857-Sprint-pushes-back-Network-Vision-completion-date-to-mid-2014 We can't keep blaming the birds for these delays. http://gizmodo.com/5929230/your-sprint-4g-sucks-because-of-birds I remember in the early 2000's that Sprint seemed so fresh and technologically advanced. They had better phones and better features than the rest. Outside the hardcore fans and employees who will never leave Sprint the brand has totally lost its luster. I think they should start new and rebrand everything. Provide a competitive network experience with revolutionary rate plans, hottest phones and rates that make sense for both consumers and shareholders alike.

AJ I know you are trying to be funny so I'll extend a courtesy laugh to you and your ignorance. When did Sprint become the luxury carrier for the well to do? What dimension of space is this even reality? T-Mobile and Sprint cater and fight for 2nd and 3rd tier customers who value paying less money a month in exchange for a lesser network experience. Walk into any Sprint store and it's like going to the DMV. I've had to deal with their retail (corporate owned employees and Business reps alike for years. They stand out and not always in a good way. Sprint customers looking to buy accessories have to compete with customers trying to pay their 2 month past due statements in cash.

I was around when Sprint bought Nextel. The Sprint fanboys were in the same utopia as they are now. They thought they were going to rule the wireless world with the best coverage, best PTT offering, best phones, best speeds and highest ARPU. They were going to destroy Verizon and dominate the US wireless market. 2.5 GHz networks have great capacity capabilities but the range is abysmal. With best efforts building out new sub 1 GHz networks and PCS networks from scratch are poor and spotty at best. 2.5 GHz will be even worse. I doubt Son is dumb enough to pour in the capital to build out 2.5 GHz to the extent needed to be ubiquitous and will instead only use it in the most dense urban markets where the highest needs are. Facts are that Softbank, as successful as they were in Japan, are not guaranteed to replicate this success State-side. By many accounts even in Japan their service "sucks." The United States is a market unlike no other on earth and the challenges to build out far exceed anything SoftBank has ever had to encounter. The incumbents will not make it easy for them either. A large part of Softbank's Japanese success was in part to being an exclusive provider of the iPhone. Here the carriers compete by having the best phones exclusive to themselves or pricing themselves down down down. Son doesn't want to allow the competitors to capitalize on growing data revenues while he offers unlimited data with capped fees. I'm trying to find the interview he made with a reporter where he claimed he would have to continue to offer "unlimited data," as long as Sprint's network was poor in comparison to their competitors.

Speaking of being politically incorrect: Sprint retail stores are just as "ghetto," as T-Mobile. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black... for real. Regular customers (not Sprint employees or enthusiasts)..... don't choose Sprint for coverage nor do they choose Sprint for their incredibly fast 3G speeds because we all know neither are there. They choose Sprint because they are cheaper than the more well known incumbents. Sprint, like T-Mobile will continue to offer unlimited data as long as they have to in order to attract the value conscious. This isn't a knock on Sprint but it's reality if you want to go there.