Sprint's future: bright or dim?

[atomicdog21]

This is not an attempt to reapply the same old "Sprint C.S. sucks/ no, it's an insane value and much improved co." A lot has come down the line today. We know now of the N1 coming to all majors, and a few hours later we hear of Supersonic announcements at CTIA next week, seeming to solidify the early summer timeline. As a longtime Sprint customer, I wonder what your thoughts are all on Sprint's future. Here's my key thoughts.
1.Sprint will have the two phones that will duke it out for phone of the year, the HTC supersonic and the Google nexus one.
1a.But everyone else will have the N1 also.
2.Sprint will continue to have a strong close relationship with HTC, the key manufacturer of android smart phones in the near future.
2a. It will not be exclusive, and sprint continues to have difficulty getting exclusives on phones anyone REALLY cares about.
3.Sprint will launch the first 4g phones this year.
3a.great head start, but I'm very concerned that what we'll see in 3 years is one cell company in the USA using WiMax and all others using LTE.
4.Sprint is the best value, period in markets where their service is acceptable.
4a.Not sure that is enough markets right now.
5.Sprints C.S. (not to drag this out again) has improved significantly.
5a.Whether from perception or reality, Sprint C.S. is still rated abyssmally (and I've always had good service. seriously.)

Whoo thats a wall of text. Sorry! Informed discussion please. Go!

 

[dannynyc]

I agree,

Best value in wireless, what I think Sprint did was smart, perhaps it wasn’t planned this way but it worked out very nice.

VZW, Tmo, and ATT all pretty much announced their cool phones coming out and some are already out. The other carriers have made a lot of announcements already and most of their "big news" is out. Sprint, on the other hand, waited for everyone else and then once everyone thought Sprint was letting their customers down phone-wise start announcing their line up.

Like I said, not sure if it was done purposely but it worked out nice. Now the spotlight is on them exclusively, temporarily of course.

 

[justinsaneeeee]

I work for Sprint and in all honesty we dont have the GREATEST phones out there I believe Verizon beats us in that but AT&T and T-Mobile are tied and we are just above them but with our new lineup coming out who know where it will lead us at Sprint. Yes we got N1 but your right every carrier will have the N1 and we will have the Hero 2, Blackberry Bold(9650),MAYBE a Sprint exclusive Blackberry Slider(9900), and HTC Supersonic( first 4G Phone). We have some things coming out and hopefully those rumors are valid enough to help Sprint to be a better company.

 

[crowordove]

I switched from ATT last summer and couldn't be happier.That said the wimax concern mentioned, of being the only carrier to adopt it, I believe to be null and void. Wimax is a great technology and being that LTE won't truly be 4G for years but more like 3.5G leads me to beleive that the other companies have made a mistake not Sprint. And by the time they realize it Sprint will roll out 5G. Sprint is learning from past mistakes and moving forward. I think that if they keep up their current game they will soon overtake the wireless idustry, if in technology only.

 

[crowordove]

In other words bright.

 

[takeshi]

That said the wimax concern mentioned, of being the only carrier to adopt it, I believe to be null and void.

Seems to me like it would be a disadvantage in negotiating with handset makers who can produce and sell larger quantities of LTE devices than WiMax.

As for Sprint's future? No telling. Being first can be a plus. They have quite a way to go to make some waves though. They're a great deal because they have to be (at least in the minds of the consumers). Also keep in mind that technical merit doesn't always equate to market success.

 

[eric.atx]

I switched from ATT last summer and couldn't be happier.That said the wimax concern mentioned, of being the only carrier to adopt it, I believe to be null and void. Wimax is a great technology and being that LTE won't truly be 4G for years but more like 3.5G leads me to beleive that the other companies have made a mistake not Sprint. And by the time they realize it Sprint will roll out 5G. Sprint is learning from past mistakes and moving forward. I think that if they keep up their current game they will soon overtake the wireless idustry, if in technology only.

I agree. Sprint is going to get a good jump the start of the second half of this year and next year. I think they are on the big upswing and WiMax will be a big reason why it does happen. People will hear of the speed and will jump because of that. Once people start jumping then the phones will come and then the cascade should start.

If Sprint ever got the iPhone they'd destroy.

 

[OB1J3D1]

I just switched from Sprint to VZW. I was with Sprint for 6 years. I agree Sprint is the cheapest. On top of that I was on the SERO plan so even cheaper. But, service was horrible for me and I'm in Los Angeles. On top of that, even with unlimited free roaming, I couldn't even roam at Mammoth Mountain. Granted, that is a ski resort at 5 or 6 k ft. But come on it's Mammoth Mountain dammit! With VZW, I'm making calls taking pictures and sending them to friends and family from the peak at 10k ft on top of the damn mountain.

That having been said, yes it's cheaper, yes phones are coming as well as 4G. But, without service, that does nothing for me.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

After getting rid of the pre, I'm happy with Sprint Service and customer support... cause I haven't had to call them
I had VZW before and they were great. They gave me a $300 data charge when I signed up for the $15 unlimited data plan almost 2 years ago, and they fixed it, but took quite a while before that came off the bill. Otherwise, I had no issues with VZW or service. I'm in Florida and Sprint's map is so good here, I never roam, not that it would matter too much if I did, I just wouldn't get 3G, which is fine with me. I get good service wherever I travel within the state. I went out to AZ, though, and I was roaming just about everywhere I had service other than Phoenix (which I wasn't there often). Like I said, the roaming wasn't an issue, and I had no idea I could roam data either. My gf's pre was setup by default to have it activated, mine wasn't, so I went out there for 5 weeks without that bit of knowledge and having no internet where I stayed, made it worse. I'm happy I'm back in FL, and very happy with my Sprint service. We have a family T-Mo Razr for anyone who is going to do any international traveling, not bad for $50 whenever you need it, not even 2-yr contract.

 

[atomicdog21]

I switched from ATT last summer and couldn't be happier.That said the wimax concern mentioned, of being the only carrier to adopt it, I believe to be null and void. Wimax is a great technology and being that LTE won't truly be 4G for years but more like 3.5G leads me to beleive that the other companies have made a mistake not Sprint. And by the time they realize it Sprint will roll out 5G. Sprint is learning from past mistakes and moving forward. I think that if they keep up their current game they will soon overtake the wireless idustry, if in technology only.

4G is probably at the center of any real conversation about Sprint's future. Two things I have heard that are extremely important are the rumors that what mostly separates WiMax and LTE is software differences, and that WiMax is cheap to roll out and maintain, even cheaper than 3G. Can anyone corroborate those? I don't remember where I had heard that, but if not (overly) expensive software changes where the only separators, WiMax/LTE differences would be minimized, and Sprint 4G is gettnig close to ATT 3G.
Food for thought.

 

[Duvi]

They may have forgotten to pay their light bill because it's DARK (not even dim) IMO. Still love all my unlimited stuff on my Pre though; may be the reason they couldn't pay this light bill... lol. They're not giving you the milk for free, they hand you the whole cow.

 

[nRRe]

they need 4g to be reliable and succesful and get it to as many people as they can.

also, i to heard WiMax can be turned into LTE with just a software update...phones the same way.

Future is bright as long as they don't let this slip.

I'm just tired of seeing old man Hesse in their commercials, i want to see flashy commercials with their phones doing cool stuff...but i've been with Sprint for 10 years now, don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

 

[Duvi]

they need 4g to be reliable and succesful and get it to as many people as they can.

also, i to heard WiMax can be turned into LTE with just a software update...phones the same way.

Future is bright as long as they don't let this slip.

I'm just tired of seeing old man Hesse in their commercials, i want to see flashy commercials with their phones doing cool stuff...but i've been with Sprint for 10 years now, don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

WiMax isn't going to do it for them. To tell you the truth, most of the U.S. don't even realize what the difference between 3G and 4G is. They have to do it with other things like getting some of the top phones first, customer service and stop giving away the farm.

And I'm tired of seeing him too... lol. I think it's a money issue though, he does it for free for Sprint. Haaa.

 

[Complex Pants]

Sprint in an interview have said that they are only committed to WiMAX as that it was the quickest way to roll out 4G. Dan Hesse also said that he doesn't have a problem switching over to LTE, but he wanted 4G available to his customers ASAP

Isn't most of the world doing WiMAX as well?

 

[Duvi]

Sprint in an interview have said that they are only committed to WiMAX as that it was the quickest way to roll out 4G. Dan Hesse also said that he doesn't have a problem switching over to LTE, but he wanted 4G available to his customers ASAP

Isn't most of the world doing WiMAX as well?

From what I see its LTE. I could be wrong, but that's what ive seen.

 

[atomicdog21]

So we have multiple people hearing the same (software can make WiMax phones and towers got to LTE pretty easy)? Would very much like to know that as fact, and Sprint may be able to truly get out front on this. Any other longtime Sprinters here remember when Sprint had 3G first and best, but rolled it out like 3rd or 4th because they wanted to do it all at once? Seems Dan Hesse is steering a more practical ship now...

 

[crowordove]

The Wimax towers are lte ready as well and when lte become th greter technology they hit a switch to turn them on. It's brilliant and effective

4G is probably at the center of any real conversation about Sprint's future. Two things I have heard that are extremely important are the rumors that what mostly separates WiMax and LTE is software differences, and that WiMax is cheap to roll out and maintain, even cheaper than 3G. Can anyone corroborate those? I don't remember where I had heard that, but if not (overly) expensive software changes where the only separators, WiMax/LTE differences would be minimized, and Sprint 4G is gettnig close to ATT 3G.
Food for thought.

 

[eric.atx]

I still think this is a brilliant plan by Sprint. Roll out WiMax 4G and if LTE turns out to have an advantage then switch over to that just make sure all your phones can handle both. If their phones can handle both and maybe even roam on LTE if needed then they'd be in a fantastic position.

This is all assuming what I have heard is true and the difference between WiMax and LTE is mainly just software.

 

[rb68]

Difference between Wimax and LTE isn't just software. There are hardware and frequency differences. Good for Sprint in getting to market first on the back of Wimax, but LTE is going to be superior in many regards.

 

[atomicdog21]

so are dual 4G band "new world phones" Sprint's possible answer? Hmm... well, let's just remember that dual high def players didnt save HDDVD from BLU-RAY. But boy oh boy if there is a way, Dan Hesse, you will be the Machievelli of the mobile world.