RedSpark

How much of a cost savings is there, especially given the higher propagation of signal from 8T8R antennas on Macro Sites vs. the Mini Macro 2.5s?

You make a great point here about that 70% figure. I can understand prioritizing the sites which need capacity the most first, but is there a plan to add Band 41 to every macro tower site eventually? Otherwise, we're basically looking at Band 25 (with CA eventually) and Band 26. Data usage is only increasing, and if Sprint has appreciable network adds, it'll need the additional capacity of Band 41 across all of its sites across the country.

Wow. Didn't consider that as a possibility. Hopefully Sprint makes more progress on Band 41 deployment in 2017. Is this due to limited capital expenditures for this Quarter? I thought that limited CapEx was mainly due to permitting delays for small cell deployments. Now it sounds like it was due to addressing high interest Clearwire Debt based on this chart: http://investors.sprint.com/financials/default.aspx Here's what I don't get: Sprint has additional liquidity and funding vehicles available besides the Handset Leasing Company and the Network Leasing Company. Why don't they take advantage of those too? These are discussed on Page 17: Fiscal 2Q 2016 Investor Update

Gunther said this during the AMA: Still quite some way to go.

Back to Toyko he goes.... https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/811486352554463232 "Exciting Times Ahead."

Yup. http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article30751155.html

Yes. http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/technology/article92674502.html http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/sprint-extends-claure-s-contract-until-2019-will-give-him-10m-shares-if-he-gets-stock-to-8

There's still a 100% chance of that 20% chance happening. That's what always gets me about these predictions from analysts... Analysts can say "20% chance", and they're "right" either way. Either it happens and they say, "I said 20% chance that it would happen"... or it doesn't happen and they say "I said 20% chance that it would happen".... It's the same thing. Heck, an analyst could say "99% chance" and still have an out if it doesn't come through on that remaining 1%.... such that it would be a 100% chance of a 99% chance ... and a 100% chance of a 1% chance. It's totally meaningless.

Marcelo tweeted about it.

Hopefully we hear more about this in the coming weeks. Really happy for him!

Günther responded to this question last night after the AMA ended: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/5ipysj/2nd_ama_here_we_come/dba667q/ Pretty cool. It'll be interesting to see what design influence the "Ultimate Sprint Coverage Map" has on Sprint's coverage map.

Sprint's definitely excited about its AMA with Günther today: Marcelo tweeted about it. Günther is on Facebook and he put up a short video on his page as well. I think these AMA's with Günther represent a real change in tone/approach for the company. It's great to see Sprint connecting and interacting with users for direct questions and feedback about its network technology/plans (and anything else).

Looks like Marcelo will be doing some device/plan sales at a retail store on this upcoming Saturday: Claure will trade C-suite for retail floor to sell plans at Plaza store He'll also be visiting some call centers according to the article.

Nothing is future proof. Networks are never finished.

If you take a close look at the images released during the presentation yesterday, you'll see this on the screen: 1.9 GHz Baseline Drop point for an LTE phone on 2.5 GHz with no HPUE is 77% of that baseline outdoors. Drop point for an LTE phone on 2.5 GHz with HPUE is 99% of that baseline outdoors. Because HPUE can improve 2.5 GHz coverage up to 30 percent, it's able to cover 99 percent of the area covered by Sprint's 1.9 GHz spectrum outdoors and approximately 90 percent of Sprint's 1.9 GHz spectrum coverage indoors. Once Sprint is able to make real progress on its densification program (including small cell deployments) and ramps up carrier aggregation to 3 Carriers and beyond (and the device base has enough HPUE device uptake), I don't think any other carrier will be able to keep up.

Great read! And the article also quoted this re 3CA updates for existing devices: Device VP Sullivan told me that the upgrades will come for Apple, Samsung and a host of other vendors early next year. This will be "well ahead" of the Mobile World Congress show in late February next year, he said.

Good question. Not sure. Perhaps it's still under consideration at the FCC? How can we find out the status?

According to the filing: "Band reconfiguration continues to make significant progress across the United States. All 800 MHz public safety and non-public safety licensees required to be retuned in a total of forty-three NPSPAC Regions and the U.S. Territories have fully completed 800 MHz band reconfiguration efforts." "Currently only 12 Regions of the 55 NPSPAC Regions remain incomplete. Excluding the five Regions located within in the U.S. – Mexican Border Area , only two individual licensees (one public safety and one non-public safety) remain to fully complete 800 MHz band reconfiguration in the seven non-border NPSPAC areas of the United States." .-.-.-.-.- "Sprint appreciates the continuing opportunity to update the Commission on the substantial progress being made in 800 MHz band reconfiguration. We remain available to discuss this Report at the Bureau’s convenience. Sprint remains committed to completing this important initiative; however, as the information contained herein demonstrates, Sprint cannot complete 800 MHz band reconfiguration until all affected incumbent licensees complete their individual retuning activities."

In 1993, Metro entered into an agreement with Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) to install wireless communications in Metro`s underground stations and tunnels. This wireless network, currently owned and maintained by Verizon, only supports Verizon cell phones. Sprint phones must roam onto this network for access. TMobile and AT&T phones have no current access. In addition, the existing wireless infrastructure is old and does not have the technical sophistication to even provide Verizon`s own broadband data service offerings. So that's interesting. Here's the most recent of Sprint’s Status Reports on 800 MHz Band Reconfiguration (December 1, 2016) Perhaps he's one of the people show on the map, unless it's already been adjudicated. It's even gotten to the point where Sprint asked for a waiver to permit 800 MHz operation in AZ. (November 3, 2016) According to a footnote in the filing: "Over the past few years, Sprint has been granted waivers in Florida, Northern California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas – El Paso, Texas – San Antonio and Washington before 800 MHz band reconfiguration was complete in those Regions."

Yeah. But it's also about playing hardball or not. If 800 MHz was made a "National Priority" rising to the level of a presidential phone call, it would get done pronto. Same for other projects that are slow going... Take this one for example in DC/MD/VA: Underground cell service comes to 1.1-mile stretch of Metro tunnel system; only 49.4 miles to go Here's a PowerPoint that WMATA (the Transit agency) released a couple months ago: https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/board-pdfs/upload/101316_3BRadioandCellularInfrastructureReplacementUpdate.pdf First areas to have cellular availability: - Potomac Avenue to Stadium Armory by end of year - Glenmont to Silver Spring by Spring of 2017 See how the schedule shows the project running pretty far into 2020? The Economist actually uses the Big Mac as an economic indicator for measuring Purchase Power Parity, and calls it the "Big Mac Index". This provides a test of the extent to which market exchange rates result in goods costing the same in different countries. Given the 800 MHz delays that Sprint has experienced and the DC Metro's sluggish pace on wireless deployment (a process that originally started in 2009 and was halted when the vendor, PowerWave, went bankrupt), I've coined a new term: "The Empire State Building Index", with this in mind: The Empire State Building was completed on April 11, 1931, 12 days ahead of schedule, and just 410 days after construction commenced. More than 7 Million Man Hours were put into the construction. And this monumental feat was accomplished in the 1930's, with 1930's construction technology. It's almost 2017, and we're supposed to believe it's going to take almost 4 years to run some cable through tunnels and place antennas over a linear track distance of 50 miles for cellular coverage? I don't buy it. Not for a second. Not to mention the fact that lacking wireless coverage throughout the underground transit system for the Nation's Capital is a matter of public safety and national security, it's an abject display of incompetence and bureaucracy that the project is scheduled to take 4 years for this amount of work. Who are we kidding here, seriously? I also find this to be a corollary for what's going on with the 800 MHz rebanding and Mexico. If the State Department really wanted this done, it would be done. If the President really wanted it done, it would be done. It just doesn't rise to that level I guess.

I'm sure it's like anything else: Mexican companies and the Mexican government pushing back against the cost of compliance and bureaucracy. One way or another, it always comes back to money it seems. FW had an article about this a while back: Sprint's 800 MHz LTE plans get boost after senators urge State Dept. to pressure Mexico on rebanding At some point, it's about how much political capital you have and how far you're willing to go on it as a US National Policy. Here we are ~18 months after this article was published....

Good point. Per the Sprint Financials Page (http://investors.sprint.com/financials/default.aspx), It seems like paying off the Clearwire 14.75% First-priority senior secured notes due 2016 (Maturing 12/1/2016) was a priority. That's very expensive money.

http://www.rcrwireless.com/20161213/carriers/sprint-lte-coverage-set-for-device-jolt-touts-nyc-small-cell-gains-tag2 "Sprint CTO John Saw noted that despite the increased transmitting power from within the device, there was virtually no impact on battery performance."

Why did the installation rates drop? What was the change in focus?

Not only that, I wonder what the SAR values for HPUE devices are going to be as well. Will I need shielding next to my head to use these devices? ;-)