RedSpark

Neat. So are the COWs/COLTs just parked there on an as-needed basis or semi-permanent basis? Sprint could easily add coverage to remote areas like national parks with this technology.

Gunther and John Saw are doing a Massive MIMO test in Tokyo with the SoftBank team: 8x Capacity! https://twitter.com/guengott68/status/857803030783295490 Excited for this to come to the USA.

Oh? That's pretty cool. Any indication of permanent installations?

That's a good point... However, SoftBank announced that it was going to sell 25% of its stake in ARM barely 6 months after acquiring it. It's putting that money in a $100 Billion Investment fund. Even crumbs from that would do Sprint a world of good. Slowly recovering yes, but I disagree that Sprint is fully self-sufficient at this point. I believe Sprint is still coasting along based on how SoftBank helped Sprint structure the SpectrumCo and the Handset Leasing vehicles, which have bought it time with lower debt payments for now, but they aren't a permanent fix. Ultimately, the Debt Load that Sprint faces going forward is a real challenge for dedicated CapEx to enable Sprint to remain competitive. In addition to network adds, I'm hopeful the company will be able to say it achieved positive Free Cash Flow this past quarter during the Earnings Call, but that may not happen due to the ongoing debt load it's carrying. For what my opinion is worth, I'm surprised Masa doesn't see more upside with Sprint given its unique and substantial spectrum position for owning the 5G Network space. Sorry for multiposting. I'll be more careful about that going forward.

Based on the Debt Maturities Chart (http://investors.sprint.com/financials/default.aspx), FY 17' has a real spike in "Financing Obligations" and "Sprint Notes & Credit Facilities". Perhaps Sprint should do another Tranche for SpectrumCo to free up funds for a targeted CapEx surge. That interest rate is only 3.36%. It boggles the mind how Masa can spend $31 Billion on ARM and yet, covenants with Japanese banks prevent him from putting any more money into Sprint.

How do you think Gilat's Press Release (October 26, 2016) fits into all this? Gilat’s Satellite-based Cellular Backhaul Solution Selected by Sprint to Extend LTE Services to Metro Edge and Rural Areas in the US Is there any evidence to-date that Sprint has moved on this?

Wouldn't that be something if this is how it all came together?

I think Marcelo is confident Sprint will report solid results on May 3rd: https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/857838798146686976

I agree. FAR EAST sounds like Japan to me. I wonder where Neville Ray is...

LOL! Perhaps they could announce it "subject to regulatory review". https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/mergers-and-competition/merger-review

Think they're working to put together a deal to announce at Sprint's Earnings Call on May 3rd? Gunther is also there.

Marcelo's currently visiting SoftBank in Tokyo, Japan: Another great day @SoftBank in #Tokyo discussing @sprint business with my boss !! Exciting times ahead. John Legere is currently heading "FAR to the east": UpUpandAway Goodbye Denver!great meetings , I'm certain I'll be back soon... now I will fly FAR to the east... Happy Thursday! The FCC's gag order on Auction participants period will expire April 27th (Today): Merger talks in the wireless industry have been on hold for almost a year because of a government spectrum auction that required participants to avoid negotiating deals with each other. That gag order gets lifted April 27. In addition to making contact with T-Mobile, Sprint also believes it could get overtures from cable companies, such as Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc. and Altice NV, that have entered or expressed an interest in the U.S. wireless market, the people said. Coincidence?

Marcelo just Tweeted: Hey @BlackBerry fans, the keyboard is back! We’ll have the #KEYone @Sprint later this year! It's happening! http://www.blackberrymobile.com/us/ https://www.engadget.com/2017/04/27/blackberry-keyone-reaches-the-us-on-may-31st/

Sprint roaming on T-Mobile... We'd never be able to live that one down...

How about that... Hopefully AT&T is more reasonable about roaming rates than Verizon was.

Great info! Thank you. Sounds like Project Cedar lives on? http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-382-sprint-planning-large-network-expansion-adding-9000-new-lte-sites-nationwide/

Where have you seen/heard this talk?

Perhaps this is Sprint's plan for those affected areas? Gilat’s Satellite-based Cellular Backhaul Solution Selected by Sprint to Extend LTE Services to Metro Edge and Rural Areas in the US (Oct 26, 2016)

Verizon is set to shutdown its 1X network by December 31, 2019: http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-to-shut-down-2g-cdma-1x-network-by-end-2019

Oh to be a fly on the wall... https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/857466969070620672 "Another great day @SoftBank in #Tokyo discussing @sprint business with my boss !! Exciting times ahead."

There's more where that came from: Marcelo calls out AT&T: "COME ON @ATT THIS ACTUALLY BEATS FAKE NEWS. CALLING LTE 5G" https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/857112319419133952 Marcelo calls out Verizon: "Hey big mouth @JNels what happened last quarter ? Your company @Verizon lost 307k postpaid and 17k prepaid customers #goingdown" https://twitter.com/marceloclaure/status/857059800110309376 I think we're going to see some good numbers!!!

Neville Ray made some interesting comments on Sprint's 2.5 GHz Spectrum and HPUE during T-Mobile's Earnings Call: Is John Saw right that 2.5 GHz is the new low band for 5G?: or is Neville Ray right that it's not?

Little by little it seems!

That's very possible, but this is where Marcelo is getting it wrong. People will come for the right product at the right price if there's an effective value proposition communicated. Adding more retail stores to communicate Sprint's current value proposition for its product doesn't improve the actual product. CapEx for network upgrades and expansion will do that... and people will flock to the existing distribution channels to get the product. The Website is effectively Sprint's largest retail presence and it reaches everyone. A single store location does not.... and the Return on Investment is much lower for those in my opinion.

I'm seeing this as well.