RedSpark

No. But people stream music and the max bitrate here is 1/3 of Sprint's on Unlimited Freedom.

Looks like T-Mobile is reaching network saturation if it's having to resort to this... https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/15/apple-watch-series-3-limited-speeds-tmobile/ That's embarrassing. Sprint's Network on the other hand has been getting better and better based on Marcelo's recent remarks and the posted network plans.

2.2M Magic Boxes? That's a serious production run. Perhaps we'll see models which transmit more than single carrier of Band 41 as a clean signal? 8K new Macro Tower Sites should expand the network quite nicely, but I'm surprised to see such an investment in Mini Macros (45K new sites) when they are currently limited to 2CA. I imagine the same limitation applies to Strandmounts and AirPoles (15K)? 30k Tower Upgrades: Given that Sprint has approximately 50,000 Sites currently, that's a substantial number that will upgraded. Here's what Marcelo said at the Conference: http://www.seekingalpha.com/article/4107108 Marcelo Claure Yes. I think the scenario where, I don't think we have done a great job of explaining. So I am going to try to do this. You have to look at the strength from Sprint, all the way down from 2013 to this year. And if you average that, you are going to realize, that Sprint was spending, potentially a larger amount as a percentage of service revenue than our competitors. You go back to 2013-2014, we are spending close to 20%, and now we are spending in the mid-teens. So if you average, because there are spending cycles in which you upgrade your network, you are going to spend more. So from that end, we feel very good at how we manage our CapEx. Secondly, is we have a different culture. When I came to Sprint, hey this is the CapEx budget, and then everybody in the network team believed that it was actually good to go spend that money at whatever expense, because next year was going to be gone. Today, we setup a budget, but we look at every single dollar that comes out, to make sure we are not overspending, that we are not buying the wrong inventory, that we are not overpaying as to build our network. So we have a very disciplined amount, in terms of how do we spend. Now going forward what are we going to do? I think we have by far, the most diverse toolkit. We are going to get back at expanding our coverage. We plan to add a few thousand macro sites in the next 18 months. We have launched a massive upgrade, in terms of our existing towers or existing macro-sites, in which I expect every one or -- very-very high 90s, that every single one of our site should have 800, 1.9 and 2.5. These are things that we hadn't done in the last three years. But the time has come now to expand our coverage, and basically to make sure that every single one of our towers have basically three sites. We have done it in specific markets and the results have been incredible. Whenever we pull our entire kit of macro, macro upgrades, or mini-macros, we basically are by far the best network. And now, that we have a business that has been stable, you are going to see higher levels of investment. In addition, we are going to continue the massive deployment that we have of mini-macros or small cells, that is going quite well. We have a network meeting every week. Every week, we are getting more and more permits. I am very happy with all the states signing the small cell bill, that basically every single week, we get more approvals on the previous week, which has been hard, because now I think most cities and counties have realized that actually having a smart connected city is good for them. And then, our latest innovation, which is the magic box, is working incredibly well. We are sold out and we already tried to deploy. There are no longer thousands. By the end of this year, we are going to have hundreds of thousands of small cell or mini-macro -- what we call the magic boxes, customer's homes. So when you look at a combination, magic boxes, mini-macros, site upgrades, new macro towers, or new macro site. I think you are going to see our network continues to get better. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Much more in there!!

Marcelo (CEO): http://investors.sprint.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Sprint-CEO-Marcelo-Claure-to-Speak-Sept-14-at-Goldman-Sachs-Communacopia-Conference/default.aspx SeekingAlpha also has a Transcript: http://www.seekingalpha.com/article/4107108 Tarek (CFO): http://investors.sprint.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Sprint-CFO-Tarek-Robbiati-to-Speak-September-7-at-Bank-of-America-Merrill-Lynch-2017-Media-Communications-and-Entertainment-Conference/default.aspx You can replay the webcasts. Just enter anything for company name when you "register".

Yes. You're right about this. Sprint was likely asking Apple for HPUE as early as 2015. As for why Apple didn't include it, Apple has to give upgraders a reason to upgrade again. That's just what they do. It happened with the lack of Band 41 on the iPhone 5s/5c. So we'll likely see HPUE and 4x4 MIMO on next year's iPhones. T-Mobile will also get 600 MHz support... and the Apple people will upgrade as expected. I'm curious about the time on LTE and time on Band 41 test data for the iPhone 7/8/X vs an HPUE device like the S8 on Sprint. If there's not an appreciable difference between these figures, we're not missing out on as much as it seems perhaps. Perhaps this be the last year for Qualcomm Modems in iPhones? Intel has this: https://www.pcmag.com/news/351878/intels-7560-modem-could-push-next-iphone-to-1gbps Or perhaps we see a Qualcomm x20 in next year's models alongside it....again...

The specs for these devices were finalized probably between 18-24 months ago. Sprint publicly unveiled HPUE in Mid-December 2016 and it was certified very shortly thereafter. When you factor in the component sourcing timeline for the production volumes that Apple needs along with the cost margins it wants to have and the device testing regimen it wants, it makes sense why HPUE isn't supported this cycle. By the time of the public unveiling in December 2016, the Specs for the iPhone 8/X were already set in stone and nothing was going to change them. Even if Sprint was asking for HPUE behind the scenes we'll before the unveiling, it must have not been done with enough time for Apple to agree to it for this release cycle. The same explanation could be why it doesn't support 600 MHz for T-Mobile either. It's just Apple being Apple.

It's a bit hard for me to justify paying the extra $300 for the iPhone X 256GB over the iPhone 8 256GB when it also doesn't support HPUE or 4x4 MIMO. I guess it'll be a fraction of that total $300 amount on iPhone Forever spread out over 12 months. I'd almost rather have the Watch (Cellular) + the iPhone 8 256GB. Hopefully the 2018 iPhone gets HPUE.

You have to stare at it with open eyes and then swipe. Perhaps the forced stare plus the swipe would be violative as an unlawful seizure.

Sprint's Coverage Map got an update today! https://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp

Exactly. It worked like it was supposed to. The device had been sitting for too long without being unlocked or it had been rebooted prior to the demo. In such cases, the passcode is required for Face ID. Given that, Apple didn't have the device properly prepared for the demo run of show to work with the demo. Fault of the Apple event staff. No way for the presenter to know this ahead of time.

You can enable a Cop Block for Touch ID in iOS 11: https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/17/16161758/ios-11-touch-id-disable-emergency-services-lock I imagine the same is possible for Face ID.

More cool videos on Massive MIMO!

Lots going on there this week! Marcelo is also speaking on Sept. 14th at the Goldman Sachs Conference: http://investors.sprint.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Sprint-CEO-Marcelo-Claure-to-Speak-Sept-14-at-Goldman-Sachs-Communacopia-Conference/default.aspx

Wow. This is really different!

Interesting new hire: http://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-names-ivo-rook-senior-vp-iot.htm Starts January 1, 2018

Perhaps suitable for outdoor/environmental mounts as well as business settings. The current form factor is primarily for home use but is also being marketed for business. Tarek was talking about producing these in the hundreds of thousands to get the price down even lower. Sounds like they're at the very beginning of Magic Box and ramping up scale.

Just listened to the Livestream replay of Tarek Robbiati's Conference Talk from yesterday. http://investors.sprint.com/news-and-events/past-events/event-details/2017/Bank-of-America-Merrill-Lynch-2017-Media-Communications--Entertainment-Conference/default.aspx So many great topics covered in 40 minutes. Click the link to replay it. CapEx, Magic Box, Sprint/Virgin Free Service Promotions, T-Mobile's Netflix Bundle, Cost Reduction, M&A. Hundreds of thousands of "Magic Boxes" are coming apparently... and in multiple form factors too. Definitely worth a listen!

Sprint is the latest big marketer to launch its own in-house ad agency http://www.businessinsider.com/sprint-is-the-latest-big-marketer-to-launch-its-own-in-house-ad-agency-2017-9 Interesting development.

Perhaps soon. The coverage map was last updated 8/11/2017.

T-Mobile just bundled Netflix with its plans as its "Uncarrier" announcement: https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/tmobile-uncarrier-netflix.htm Sprint does Amazon Prime with Carrier Billing on a monthly/annual basis if I recall correctly... is there any compelling reason for Sprint to compete further with additional bundling deals/arrangements on this front?

http://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-expands-digital-efforts-with-new-in-house-agency.htm Looks like Sprint is standing up an in-house digital marketing team. Good idea?

http://investors.sprint.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Sprint-CFO-Tarek-Robbiati-to-Speak-September-7-at-Bank-of-America-Merrill-Lynch-2017-Media-Communications-and-Entertainment-Conference/default.aspx Who's tuning in?

Good things ahead it seems.

Great news! What's the backhaul for these sites? Wireline/Microwave/Satellite?

This would definitely help if that's what they plan to do. I was doing some Speedtest mapping with the Rootmetrics map this weekend around DC, Bethesda, MD, Silver Spring, MD and on the Beltway/Roads in between for the trips there and back... and there are definitely some spots that need them badly. The Beltway and GW Parkway are especially bad in some areas. I reported what I could in the My Sprint App. I wish it wasn't limited to 3 reports per line per day, but I saved the locations to report later.