RedSpark

1 hour ago, kg4icg said:

Darn did you ever think, that being in that metal can called a rail road car could have something to do with signal degredation. I travel constantly from DC to Newark and I get good results with my LG G7

I ran multiple Rootmetrics App speed tests along the route. I utilized different servers and ran the tests multiple times.

At certain locations while on the tracks, I was able to pull 100 Mbps down. At other locations it dropped out completely for a couple minutes, dropped to 1x or it was barely hanging on to 1 bar of LTE as we went along. It did this repeatedly. I ran speedtests when it did that and I reported the issue in the My Sprint App. Given that I received a mix of good and essentially “zero” speeds in locations, I’m not sure that signal degradation was the issue. I believe it’s more due to poor tower spacing and congestion.

Based on my experience yesterday, Sprint’s service along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor needs some major improvement, because honestly I was left holding a brick at times. Emails wouldn’t load. Links wouldn’t load. You can’t market a service like this.

4 minutes ago, nexgencpu said:

You should tweet Mark to confirm.

I prefer to lurk on Twitter to be honest.

3 minutes ago, nexgencpu said:

Looks to denote upgraded sites. 

The tweet states that 285 macro sites have been upgraded and that 41 small cell sites have been brought on air.

That figure doesn’t seem to correlate with the number/color of dots on the map image.

As first spotted by @nexgencpu.

Curious what the difference is between the red and blue dots.

4 minutes ago, nexgencpu said:

Talking about upgrades in the DC area..

 

Very nice. What’s the difference between the red and blue dots?

29 minutes ago, chamb said:

EXACTLY.  Give my good 4G. I have no need for 5G at all. Most people do not. All the hype about 5G is just the marketing dept trying to get users for 5g when there really is not much demand.

I agree with you to a point. 5G does serve a purpose, and if it helps address a saturated LTE network, then that’s great.

However, my experience yesterday is a glaring example of how Sprint is not accomplishing the basics. Millions of customers ride the Northeast Corridor every year. That’s millions of prospective and current Sprint customers. A network not working when you need it to is the quickest way to lose a customer (or not gain one), and if you tell a friend/colleague who’s on another carrier that your device doesn’t have coverage to do something (and they do), why would they ever switch?

All this news about 5G is great, but I was on Amtrak yesterday for a day trip between Washington DC (Union Station) and Iselin, NJ (Metropark Station), and Sprint’s coverage while on the trip was atrocious.

It repeatedly dropped to no 1x, 1x, 1 bar of LTE, or unusable LTE with more than one bar. (I have a fully updated iPhone XS and I reported the network issues where/when I could.)

It makes me wonder if any of Sprint’s Network Team has tested/ridden the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and tried using their device(s). How can they expect anyone to get work done (or other personal usage) while on the trip with this level of network performance? Hopefully Sprint addresses this, because 5G only goes so far in acquiring new and keeping customers. Sprint needs to address these fundamentals.

Now available nationwide.

Glad to see this!

Sprint Closes Asset Sale, Inches Closer to T-Mobile Merger

Inching along...

4 hours ago, RSC405 said:

Sorry if this is the wrong topic to post in. Can move it to the correct one if necessary. I still have my family on the Framily plan. I have four lines on it. Wondering if there is any input on the New sprint unlimited plans.

Here’s Sprint’s Unlimited Plan Pricing/Features: https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/plans/unlimited-cell-phone-plan.html

The plans are differentiated by SD/HD/Full HD streaming, Hotspot Allotment, International Roaming Allotment and bundled services. It’s all on the page.

Four lines on:

Unlimited Basic: $140/Month

Unlimited Plus: $180/Month

Unlimited Premium: $220/Month

Vs

Framily: https://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-redefines-the-wireless-family-with-the-new-sprint-framily-plan.htm

4 lines on Framily with the Unlimited Data add-on for each line is $60/Month per line, for a total of $240/Month.

You should consider switching plans.

16 minutes ago, bigsnake49 said:

Lots of tough negotiations behind the scenes between T-Mobile. Dish and DOJ. Trying to get it under the wire by July 29th.

 

What happens after July 29th? Is it over at that point? Does Sprint get the breakup fee?

Here’s info on that:

As noted by Axios, Sprint and T-Mobile won’t have to pay a breakup fee if regulators from the FCC or Department of Justice manage to kill the proposed merger. However, according to documents the companies filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, T-Mobile would owe Sprint $600 million if the company decides to walk away from the transaction, among other circumstances.

8 hours ago, dkyeager said:

if you look at Google fiber, Masa does not look bad.

 

Haha! Google is the king of abandonware.

27 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

This sums up the view of a lot of merger opponents: Sprint/Softbank should die so I can have cheaper phone service for a few years (maybe they won't really die).  In fairness, I think the view of many merger proponents is the duo needs real competition and the merger is the best way to do it. Ignored alternatives include anti-trust against the duo.  Of course technology and other market forces may eclipse all of this and find another alternative... or not.

I don't believe Sprint/SoftBank will die. SoftBank has simply never given Sprint the capital it needed to compete. Masa put Marcelo in there to slim the company down and prepare it for a merger. At the same time, Marcelo fed the market stories like this: https://www.cnet.com/news/sprint-ceo-give-us-two-years-and-our-network-will-blow-past-rivals/ (May 27, 2015)

It's unfortunate that in the dogged pursuit of a merger that Masa passed on the 600 MHz spectrum to pursue a monopole deployment strategy, which everyone in traditional tower telecom (given their own inherent self-interest of course) said wouldn't work... and it didn't (costing $180 Million in the process).... and now Sprint is in the position of having to deploy 5G on a nationwide scale, without the economic benefits associated with having lowband spectrum to do it. Furthermore, Sprint's lack of lowband spectrum is one of Sprint's primary justifications for the merger with T-Mobile.

The DOJ and the market at large shouldn't grant SoftBank a merger under these circumstances. Real competition is keeping 4 carriers on the market. Reducing the market to 3 competitors is a net negative overall in my opinion.

1 hour ago, Tengen31 said:

I would say yes. I'm not really sure why they ever bought Sprint.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk
 

They bought Sprint with the intention of merging with T-Mobile, but as the majority owner in such a transaction. That’s not what’s happening now.... and SoftBank shouldn’t be bailed out on its inability/unwillingness to invest in Sprint by the DOJ or by the market.

55 minutes ago, tyroned3222 said:

There are additional reasons why SoftBank can’t invest in sprint. They don’t want to own sprint 100% and that’s the reason I believe japan banks won’t allow it until SoftBank buys sprint 100%.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Has SoftBank’s inability or unwillingness to invest in Sprint been put forth as a justification for the merger?

Exclusive: U.S. clears SoftBank's $2.25 billion investment in GM-backed Cruise

$2.25 Billion would go a long way for Sprint.... I hope the DOJ sees this. This merger isn’t necessary.

Happy 4th everyone! 🇺🇸💥🍺

Hoping Sprint’s network does well on the National Mall for the 4th of July crowds in DC. I didn’t see any announcements about COWs. Perhaps Massive MIMO is covering the Mall better now?

Nice! Happy 4th! 🇺🇸💥🍺

Good progress! Happy 4th! 🇺🇸💥🍺

Bravo! 👍

I’ve been saying for a long time that Sprint needs to improve coverage where people spend time in transit: airports, bus stations, train stations. You can cover the most people that way, especially when they have idle time or need to use their device for travel purposes.

You’re right on the mark here.

11 hours ago, IrwinshereAgain said:

As part of the Softbank purchase of Sprint, they were restricted to the max percentage of Stock they could own.  If they went over that limit, they are required to buy up all of the remaining stock.  I can try to find a reference if someone else does not post it first.

See this: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1560158/000119312513192860/d425100d424b3.htm

Mandatory Offer to Purchase. The New Sprint certificate of incorporation as in effect at the effective time of the SoftBank Merger will provide that, in the event that the combined voting interest of SoftBank and its controlled affiliates in New Sprint exceeds 85% of the outstanding voting securities of New Sprint, then SoftBank or a controlled affiliate will make an offer to acquire all the remaining shares of New Sprint common stock at a price not less than the volume-weighted average closing price of New Sprint common stock for the 20 consecutive trading days immediately preceding such offer.

(Page 18)

Just now, Brad The Beast said:

They've been saying "Sprint is executing its award-winning 5G strategy with 2.5 GHz spectrum and Massive MIMO technology to launch its blazing-fast service beginning in nine top cities in the first half of 2019." for ages. First half of 2019 is just about over. 

Interesting. Yeah, I guess they'll miss that deadline then.

39 minutes ago, Brad The Beast said:

VoLTE rollout has really picked up recently. They were also supposed to have 5G rolled out to their first 9 5G launch cities by tomorrow and it doesn't look like that's going to be the case.

I don't recall it saying "end of June" for the additional launch markets. Did you see this mentioned somewhere?

https://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-lights-up-true-mobile-5g-in-atlanta-dallas-fort-worth-houston-and-kansas-city.htm (Posted: 5/30/2019)

Quote

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Sprint’s (NYSE: S) on-the-go customers are among the first in the world to experience the power and performance of true mobile 5G with the largest initial 5G coverage footprint in the U.S. The next generation of wireless service is now here, delivering blazing-fast download speeds in areas of Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City. In the coming weeks, Sprint also expects to launch service in areas of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., covering approximately 2,180 square miles and 11.5 million people total across all 9 market areas.