RichardXy

This actually is not my guess. This is a reiteration of the dates supplied on the Network Deployment list on this site. So if anyone is guessing, it wasn't me. Some second and third round markets are showing completion dates of late 2014. I would say that I'm more negative than positive but a pessimist. Never.

I wouldn't call it pessimism. It was optimism that had me check the Clearwire site daily for a year and a half and optimism that made me think Sprint might actually pull of their Network Vision as promised. It is abundantly clear now that the program is behind schedule and Network vision will be complete in late 2014. I think that is realistic and not pessimistic. It's best for Sprint if they begin to start managing expectations.

I see they are already trying to soften the blow. I suppose its better to start managing peoples expectations now instead of waiting until December.

Goople?

Well there's always Google or Apple if the Softbank deal falls apart.

I think 30 days max is plenty of time. I don't think they will want to stretch it into March. Sprint's customers are very angry in San Diego and I'm sure they realize that by now.

When Clearwire starts the TD-LTE expansion will they be using the same panels? A lot of the protection sites with the newest equipment were never really optimized for WiMax. If they start to use them for LTE wouldn't the WiMax also get enhanced because they would need to adjust the panels?

It's about 1.5 million per quarter with about 40% being first time iphone users.

Do you think that Softbank's forced divestiture of eAccess by the Japanese government will affect the Softbank-Sprint deal? Will it just give Softbank a larger war chest or will it make a merger with Sprint and Clearwire less desirable?

If they are announcing 6 months out, i hope they will be announcing another hundred or more cities in the next few days.

I don't understand how Kingman and Lake Havasu can be announced when there haven't been any accepted sites in either city. These are in Alcatel-Lucent territory and the normal way things work is that the sites get accepted and then 3 or 4 months later the 4G is turned on. So this latest list must be talking about events that will happen in April or May 2013?

I guess that's fine as long as we get a cute Japanese mascot and some Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba smartphones!

Maybe Sprint will become the prepaid brand and the rest of Sprint will get a new name like SoftBank USA after the buyout is complete.

Can you test it with Sensorly so it shows up on the maps?

I was in a Sprint store last night activating an iPhone with a friend (and it was 3G obviously) but the amusing part was that the in store Sprint wifi didn't work and the rep had to go to the window to get a signal from the free AT&T wifi at Starbucks.

This is true. I really do HATE HATE HATE Clearwire. With that being said, it really has opened my eyes to the practices of all the cell phone companies. They basically can hold a community hostage. They milk every last dime they can out of the consumer and don't give a damn about fairly using the public airwaves. Not providing adequate cell coverage can give an entire region an economic disadvantage. What business would want to operate in an area without proper 4G coverage? I doubt I will be any less bitter until Sprint 4G is widespread in San Diego.

Clear didn't JUST run out of money. They had a policy of delaying WiMAX in order to milk every last dime out of Sprint that they could.

Yes, VZW should use the spectrum or give it back. There needs to be a timeline. What VZW is doing is anti-competitive and they are trying to create a duopoly with AT&T.

It doesn't have to be colleges or universities. Maybe the next great invention will be able to use that spectrum. There's no reason for it to be wasted with BS protection sites that don't serve the public. the airwaves are a national trust and I would like to see them used or given back to the people.

I totally disagree. While Clearwire may not be able to justify wimax in extremely rural areas, they could have justified full implementation in major markets like Phoenix, Detroit and San Diego. Instead of deploying protection sites in rural America, they should have returned those licenses to the government. There doesn't need to be an Angel in the wings to swoop in and use the spectrum. Surely, this 2600 MHz spectrum could be put to use by colleges, universities, local governments, or some other use. Just because no other cellco's want it does not mean that it's useless. I still believe the government should look into the 2600 MHz utilization as part of SoftBank, Sprint, Clear deal. If this happens maybe Sprint can get an even lower price.

It doesn't benefit any of us for Sprint or anyone else to be sitting on so much spectrum. In my opinion, Clearwire's usage requirements were set too low resulting in a very limited network. Sprint should either deploy in every market or sell those markets to a company that will provide coverage to more people. Protection sites should not count as an active deployment and the government should fix this loophole.

I hope the government will put some milestone requirements on the Clearwire spectrum to make sure that Sprint uses it more than Clearwire did. I think it should be something similar to those imposed on Dish.

Nothing in Southern California again!