tyroned3222

The problem T-mobile has going at it alone is they do not have enough spectrum to feed metros, especially if they expect to deploy 5G in way shape or form without Sprint. They will need to cannibalize their own spectrum in some markets to at least get the ball rolling. 

Redspark... perfectly stated!   Very true and well thought out observations of the facts.      By the way, if the merger doesn't go through... it will be status as usual.   I do not see Softbank putting anything more into Sprint.   They will put up on the sale rack all over again and try to get rid of it as fast as possible.   Sprint meanwhile will be in limbo  as other carriers will be well underway with deep 5G deployment.   

 

 

I think the big issue for Sprint will be over coming the negative brand image.. As the network gets better their churn will lower over the next few Quarters(imo).. I just don't know how Sprint will create real foot traffic in their stores to gain maybe a 200-400k quarter..Sprint is showing signs of life, but it's still too early to tell we will have a better picture in their Q2 Q3 numbers..

At Sprint current customer base 55 million now I believe... If Sprint continues to spend 5 to 6 billion I don't think SoftBank needs to invest or will invest for that matter .. the only reason imo where SoftBank would need to invest between maybe 5-10 billion ... Is a separate capex for strictly expansion to advance Sprint pops of LTE and increase square miles cover by LTE and that would only be to speeds that up

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Hybrid means B25/41 CA.

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Looks like the new I phones will support 2xca upload and 64QAM.. wonder if it makes a different if it's TDD or FDD.

It does say TDD hyprid.. so it looks that it will support it on Sprint

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Wasn't he CEO in 2016? 

Sprint has been pretty leaned out from what I can tell. It seems like every Earnings Call that they find more costs to cut.

Here’s the Investor Update from the last Earnings Call: http://s21.q4cdn.com/487940486/files/doc_financials/quarterly/2018/Q1/03_Fiscal-1Q18-Sprint-Quarterly-Investor-Update-FINAL.pdf

Page 14:

 Cost of services (CoS) of $1.7 billion for the quarter decreased $32 million year-over-year and increased $16 million sequentially. The year-over-year decline was impacted by lower wireline network expenses.

and

Selling, general and administrative

expenses (SG&A) of $1.9 billion for the quarter decreased by $71 million year-over-year and $161 million sequentially. Adjusting for the $81 million positive impact of the new revenue standard and $93 million of merger-related costs that did not impact adjusted EBITDA*, SG&A would have decreased $83 million year-over- year and $173 million sequentially. The year-over-year decline was mostly due to lower bad debt and marketing expenses, while the sequential decline was mostly driven by lower marketing and sales expenses.

If the merger fails, I guess I could see Google being a potential merger partner. Sprint/Google have had a number of partnerships over the years like Google Voice integration. We might actually get WiFi Calling on the Nexus and Pixel! [emoji16]

Sprint does need a marketing refresh Paul is getting a bit old imo.. but the higher capex will continue so, they gotta cut else where..

Currently, the only thing that is unknown is the network expansion is any happening how many pops does sprint cover now. Sprint hasn't been very vocal about it

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Yeah, he’s definitely of the mindset that the merger will be approved. This is not a given, no matter how much lobbying or influence Sprint/T-Mobile throw out there. Just ask AT&T about the “sure thing” merger with T-Mobile. AT&T threw everything it had at that and it still didn’t go through.
If Sprint does have to go at it alone and deploy a competitive 5G network, it will likely need financial support from SoftBank to do it in an appreciable amount of time.
Of course if the merger fails to go through, hopefully Marcelo/Masa are not content to watch their Sprint asset (of which they have an ownership stake of just under 85%) become further devalued and behind due to a lack of sufficient capital to enable it to be competitive in 5G. Maybe this is something they’ll actually/finally appreciate and take action on to rectify by infusing necessary capital to Sprint. SoftBank won’t have T-Mobile to lean on or hide behind as the anchor network as would be case through a merger.

About $68B-$70B which is a lot lower than the $100B that Verizon has.

And about 55M customers. The whole thing is about scale. Yes spectrum as well but Capex spread over 120M customers is much better than spread over 55M.

Move the equipment over to their racks yes. Stop paying the rent yes. But totally decommission them, no. Remember T-Mobile has 65,000 macro sites. Sprint has 45,000. The merged company will have 85,000. So even if they add another couple thousand of new sites, they still will need new equipment so they can go from 47,000 to 85,000. So if Sprint and T-Mobile are on the same tower they will just move Sprint's equipment to T-mobile's racks. If Sprint is on a tower nearby they will also move them. If Sprint is on a desirable location that T-Mobile needs for coverage or capacity then they will add T-mobile equipment to that tower (they have identified 10,000 of those sites). The resulting company will have a hell of a network. They will move everybody to low/mid frequencies on LTE while they clear band 41 for 5G bu they will start adding 5G to unused spectrum on band 41 fairly quickly after the merger closes, and they get 5G capable devices. 

Funny thing is that Marcelo is in an influential position as SoftBank COO to determine if Sprint will receive any infusions of capital should the merger fail to be approved.
He sure didn’t sound too happy at the idea of Sprint going it alone and having to spend billions of dollars on network improvements for 5G....
Sprint’s not in a financial position to spend that kind of money, right? Perhaps that money would have to come from SoftBank?

Wow thats a major jump! With what is live, hows the experience? 

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It was probably part of the merger discussions. As in you better get your network in decent shape or the merger is off. Decent shape as in put band 41/26 on all your sites. 

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Wanted to give a quick summary on what sprint has done since the merger was announced and see what you guys think :

Q1 Sprint spent 1.1 billion capex on network improvements. In Q2 ( Sprint is rumored to spend 1.5 billion) much needed..

Sprint is aggressively pushing towards network competition.. Sprint has been very close to at&t on national average speeds..this was when band 41 was around 50% complete

Now Sprint should be able to pass at&t as they get close to 70% and beyond

As Terrell pointed out higher uplink is active in his market Ericsson

I've been seeing people post that Sprint in adding new tower in Reno Nevada which they havent done so in 10 years.. and now also confused as to why Sprint is merging with TMO

Marcelo was recently interviewed on Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-08-09/softbank-coo-claure-talks-turnaround-efforts-t-mobile-deal-video

And he was asked what if the merger is not approved.. and he said we have Analyze That.. and I think part of the analyzing was what they are doing now on the network in case the merger doesn't go thru... But Sprint is making strides now they should of made in 2015/2016

I have not seen it. I'm using an LG G7 which supports it, though the engineering screen does not show a spot for a SCC upload carrier.
You only have one site with Nokia equipment? All of the ones around me except one are Nokia. The Ericsson site still doesn't seem to have functioning 3xCA DL so I doubt it has 2xCA UL.

Unfortunately, Sprint does not appear to be offering the 512GB version for some reason. While I don't care about the storage, the extra 2GB of RAM wouldn be nice. 

Sprint I'm sure analyzed this and came to the conclusion a lot of customers won't choose that higher end option

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If any of you guys are interested in the note 9 .. pretty sweet deal

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Thats mostly with out 4x4 mimo and 256 Qam. I think if did 4x4 mimo on band 25 and band 41 and 256 qam possibly blow by t-mobile and Verizon in speeds.

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Not if the macro is still using that spectrum for CDMA. It would interfere.

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And another market San Antonio, tx . Sprint improved 2nd half of 18.. Sprint mentioned with all 4 carriers as fastest in san Antonio.. this is funny right before the possible merge and Sprint is starting to kick ass

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I mean they CAN... Add B41 radios at the ODAS head end and swap the antennas for B41 capable ones. Plus some other things. Not sure if the existing wiring can be used as is, but I'm going to guess it probably can be.

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Where are you seeing that? I don't see any 2nd half tests on their site yet.

Those are B25 outdoor DAS/small cell networks that we're put up in several cities a few years ago. 

More 2nd half market's being testing by rootmetrics and Sprint just about doubled speeds in all markets tested so far.. this is becoming a trend .. and these aren't markets where Sprint was already good.. these are new market Sprint is bringing up to speed.. impressive

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Hmm, I don't see the usual relay antenna, nor do I see an enclosure that they hide them in in some cities. Do you know if that cabinet next to it associated with the small cell?

I ask because if there's no relay, then these might be one of the more rare non-relay small cells. Do you see one or two carriers coming from it? Or is it not live yet?

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