RedSpark

That's very possible! Marcelo was a supporter for Hillary (http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article103428377.html). Apparently that didn't come up in his meeting with the President.

I'm thinking that as well. Marcelo's whole demeanor in that CNBC interview (https://twitter.com/sprintnews/status/877980187048243204) seemed to be that he's not stepping aside.

Someone's going to wind up running it. I don't see Masa giving up ownership of his vision for Sprint. I see Marcelo running the whole thing as part of the SoftBank Empire. For what it's worth, John Legere wasn't there at The White House meeting. Not sure what to read into that.

Here's some more photos of Marcelo's meeting: https://twitter.com/pagina_siete/status/878028886948405249 Check out the small cell! https://twitter.com/pagina_siete/status/878028886948405249/photo/3 Is that a Nokia Mini Macro?

Yeah. He and Legere really got into it.

He's an advocate of eminent domain. https://www.justice.gov/enrd/history-federal-use-eminent-domain Perhaps that will play a role?

Marcelo handled that interview like he's going to be the one running things after a merger.

He was definitely well prepared! Great interview. Legere wasn't at the meeting... Was he advised to stay away?

https://www.fcc.gov/document/wireless-infrastructure-nprm-and-noi https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-takes-steps-to-promote-wireless-broadband-deployment https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2017/05/wireless-infrastructure-deployment-webinar-state-and-local-governments

The merger could always go the other way.

https://www.recode.net/platform/amp/2017/6/22/15853732/wireless-drone-execs-president-trump-tech-week-regulations Speaking with Recode later Thursday, Marcelo Claure, the chief executive of Sprint, said that he and others in his industry had emphasized to Trump that the government must help them deploy new tools like small cells — essentially, mini cell towers that improve wireless connectivity. “It takes one year to get a permit, but it takes one hour to install it,” said Claure, whose company has embarked on a nationwide campaign to deploy such devices. “We heard him say loud and clear we have to fix this.” ------ Hope this process gets streamlined.

This too! https://twitter.com/guengott68/status/875430220509007872

Marcelo doing his thing: https://twitter.com/TonyRomm/status/877910067147878404 https://twitter.com/TonyRomm/status/877912648532332544 https://twitter.com/TonyRomm/status/877930873743708160

They're around:

Walt's Tweet re Senator Thune's letter to FCC Chairman Pai about 3 GHz to 7 GHz being "Mid-Band Spectrum": https://twitter.com/WaltBTIG/status/877643696690180101 Günther's reply is on point: https://twitter.com/guengott68/status/877649110718861312 And this is funny: https://twitter.com/ScottMSloat/status/877656063335698432 Lot of interesting discussion in this thread. Günther's really been making the travel rounds to different partners! He was at LG (https://twitter.com/guengott68/status/875097836614033408) , Samsung (https://twitter.com/guengott68/status/876831354218061825) and now he's at ZTE (https://twitter.com/guengott68/status/877893673043865600). Marcelo and Dr. Saw are in D.C. Today: https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/877885138348122112 Tokyo (https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/877626944766054402) to D.C. in just a few days. Crazy busy.

Sorry for the basic question: What determines whether a GMO is converted to a full Triband site or not (vs Band 25 only, etc.)?

Looks like Sprint picked Samsung to be its preferred vendor for Massive MIMO: http://www.rcrwireless.com/20170620/news/sprint-and-samsung-set-to-roll-out-massive-mimo-tag4/amp ...... Roll out planned for next year Saw said Sprint plans to roll out massive MIMO next year in the U.S., deploying Samsung radios with up to 128 antenna elements at cell sites that need more capacity. He said that because the antenna elements are so small, they can be tightly integrated with the radios, meaning that the carrier will not purchase separate antennas from other vendors. “We are expecting to get the fully equipped system from vendors like Samsung,” said Saw. Sprint also works with infrastructure vendors Nokia and Ericsson, and has conducted massive MIMO tests with Nokia. But Saw said Samsung has a unique advantage. “Samsung is unique because not only do they provide the infrastructure, but they also have some really cool handsets,” said Saw. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 phones were the first to leverage 4×4 MIMO. Smartphones that are equipped with multiple antenna elements should benefit the most from massive MIMO, although the technology is expected to boost capacity for all users. ..... This was also interesting: Sprint wants to use wireless backhaul for its small cells, and said that the Magic Box units will employ user equipment relay. According to Saw, Sprint intends to use massive MIMO for UE relay for all its small cell deployments.

Marcelo was on stage with Masa in front of SoftBank employees in Tokyo. https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/877626944766054402 One slide said "Future of Sprint". This has a whole "next chapter" feel to it.

Looks like Marcelo's headed back to D.C.: https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/877588866831712256

There's actually a "back button" in Safari. Swipe right from the left side of the screen. To go "forward", swipe left from the right side of the screen.

Bloomberg has a great article on this: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-05/in-t-mobile-sprint-talks-stock-deal-said-to-emerge-as-an-option

They probably negotiated a great deal with Apple. Also, this really streamlines the support channel and reduces cost.

It's definitely Virgin Mobile USA. Dow Draper, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, tweeted this recently: https://twitter.com/DowDraper/status/877409795984179201 It's on the website too: https://www.virginmobileusa.com

Virgin Mobile USA just announced this: https://www.virginmobileusa.com/newsroom/newsdetail2.html Virgin Mobile USA Changes How to Buy Wireless: One Year of Service for Only $1 + Virgin Perks Definitely a solid rebrand/relaunch in my opinion. Pretty good perks! Also: "Virgin Mobile worked with Apple to become the newest mobile carrier to sell its service in Apple stores and at Apple.com. It will also be the first-ever, iPhone-only mobile carrier in the United States." "“We’re thrilled Virgin Mobile is becoming the first iPhone-only carrier, and we’re excited to be able to offer Virgin Mobile services directly to our customers in Apple stores,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. “We think the Inner Circle offer is competitive and compelling, and Virgin Mobile customers are going to love using the best, most advanced iPhones ever.”" Wow. Didn't see that coming.

Marcelo Claure Elected to SoftBank Board of Directors http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/marcelo-claure-elected-to-softbank-board-of-directors.htm So that's why he was in Tokyo: https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/877174058558816256 He's posting some neat stuff about his trip on his feed.