centermedic

What is the deal with Wake Forest? Coverage is good but all my speed tests are slow.

Just got mine today. I have to get used to the power button on the side (ugh). Other than that no complaints so far. I am trying to keep it off of the charger tonight and play around with the camera.

Has anybody ordered through sprint and gotten a verification of shipping yet?

So I have to echo some of the complaints that folk have had. Most of the stores in my area do not have any HTC10's or even a demo. In my opinion, as a hail mary device, they should be doubling down on the production rather than limiting it. Anyways, not a fan of the silver. I rather have a dark color. If you look at the HTC website only the unlocked version is available in the darker color. The silver is the only color available for both Sprint and Verizon. Despite all of this I went ahead and ordered via Sprints website.

Understood but not the point I was trying to make. When those targeted ads came out the first thing that came to mind is that their internal numbers indicated a new found vulnerability to Sprint so they responded.

Not surprised by these results. In my market MetroPCS and Verizon have suddenly started to target Sprint in its advertisements.

http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/htc-10-launches-on-sprint-lte-plus-network-on-may-13.htm

Actually, quite a few people complained about the whole Spark thing. Perhaps they retired spark branding because they realized it was a mistake or that they could do better.

Grrr. Charging port on my M8 has gone kaput and I can't find anybody to fix it including Sprint.

Those examples do not address the model that I believe AJ is advocating. You only need to look at the original Bell telephone model as an example of a government funded mandate and monopoly in order to build out a piece of critical infrastructure.

I think what AJ is advocating is a system similar to what spawned AT&T. If you think about it it was a brilliant idea then and it is a brilliant idea now. As a former bell employee I can tell you that the old bell system is robust and reliable because of government control.

I just can't buy Samsung due to past issues with them. I would love to stay with HTC but they have to produce a compelling product. I wish Sony would release a phone on Sprint.

First off, I have a lot of respect for Nielsen and I am willing to take their word for it. Having said that, I don't know what their methodology is. You simply cannot look at the results of a study and declare the data valid without looking at the methodology. There does not have to be any ill intent. It is as simple as that.

What AJ was saying is that Nielsen may place more importance on one data set over another. We have no idea what their methodology and weighting is until they make it public.

Either my battery or my usb port is starting to give up the ghost. I hope they hurry up with a release so i can check this bad boy out!

From my perspective there are two ways to view this. You can call it valid based on the fact that the Nielsen Company is an expert in research methodology. The caveat is that they do not have a demonstrated expertise in wireless technology.

Wait. So how much of the $30 billion in debt is owed to Softbank?

Oh, I am sure the accountants, lawyers and actuaries have their reasons.

$30 billion of debt with a market cap of $15 billion is not the end of the world, especially if Sprint turns profitable. Again the 2.5 billion due this year is not an issue if Sprint turns a profit. However, the $10 billion due in 2020 can be an issue if it cannot be refinanced or properly planned for. At this point, I have enough confidence that I continue to buy Sprint stock.

Ok, if I am reading this correctly, Softbank is hedging its bets. If they fund Sprint and it folds, Softbank loses it investment. However, by setting up a subsidiary and loaning money to Sprint in return for collateral they are essentially making a secured loan. On the flip side, this may be helpful to Sprint also if the loans carry a significantly lower interest rate than their current debt. Eventually, they may be able to refinance that debt. Also of note, Japan currently has a negative interest rate for funds held by the central bank. This is to encourage banks to lend money rather than hoarding it. This set up may have also fueled this action by Softbank. Then again, I could be totally off base

So the D/E ratio is often used as a measure of how healthy a company is. Sprints D/E is around .60. This is a point of concern but not horrible in my opinion. So here is the rub, if you think the company is undervalued then throw the D/E out of the window. Stock prices figure into valuation. You can insert your own valuation of the company and figure out what you think the D/E should be OR you can evaluate the companies plan to deal with debt and fuel growth. If you feel confident in the plan then investing may be a good idea. If you have little to no confidence in the plan then you should probably sell the stock. Most financial folk with a head on their shoulders are forecasting healthy profit gains for Sprint this year.

I have been and remain a big HTC fan. However, this year I am waiting on both the M10 and the next Nexus. The wife upgraded her M7 for an A9 and she is happy with it. We don't do Samsung. Bad past experience.

So let me get this straight. He is basically discrediting the time honored tradition of using sample of the population? Is that not what eveybody else from ookla to rootmetrics does?

I would love to talk to you about InMotion boxes. I should have added to my original post that I have no idea how much data these services are pushing presently. However, as we have both acknowledged, it is bound to increase. I think the push will be and always have been from the municipal providers. I am not quite sure why they have been so insistent about a national broadband setup (other than the new and shiny affliction). I have a meeting in the coming days that hopefully will clear it up for me. I certainly see your point about it being more expensive than traditional carriers for the first few years. I am sure there will be a couple of municipal test beds or maybe even AMR. Additionally, as Public Safety Departments outgrow their current service provider they may very well jump on board. Thats why I think, at least in the urban markets, there may not be much spectrum left over for the wireless provider.

You make some very valid points. However, you over estimate the cost point or even where most public safety agencies are in regards to the level of technology that they field. Most large city agencies are using LTE along with "wifi bubbles" so that devices can wirelessly connect to their mobile system. Mobile data terminals have replaced the radio for a significant amount of communications. On the EMS side, video conferencing with Medical control is being tested as we speak. Finally, some systems use an IP based radio system. The question, in my mind, really is not how much data they are using today but how much they will use in the near future. All of this is going on in my system which serves one million people and fields 40 ambulances a day. Look at a city like New York which fields over 300 ambulances at any given time and suddenly the one or two simultaneous data connections does not seem very realistic. Could you imagine what would happen if law enforcement decides to do video conferencing to magistrates/judges. I really think this is similar to Field of Dreams. If you build it they will come.