Why I believe Sprint has to charge extra for the EVO
I thought I would share my thoughts on why I believe that Sprint has to charge something for the new phone/services it is rolling out.
I believe that Sprint is reacting to the market realities that they face which will ultimately determine if they succeed or fail.
In terms of the telecom market, Sprint (12%) is a distant 3rd behind Verizon (31%) and AT&T (25%). For reference, T-Mobile (12%) is also a distant third.
The market is also getting saturated in terms of available new customers.
From Sprint: The Fastest Phone On Earth ? 24/7 Wall St.
Sprint has invested a significant amount of its resources in this Wimax 4G strategy.
At best, they have from 6 - 9 months advantage in terms of 4G rollout, to at least start to close the gap before Verizon gets their 4G offering in gear. And with their resources, Verizon can make a major splash when they do. Not even mentioning AT&Ts pending rollout of the new iphone which will present another hurdle for Sprint. It appears that Verizon is taking a slower approach to rolling out 4G as part of their wait and see strategy to see how this saturated market reacts to paying more for faster service. Given Sprint?s position in the market, I don?t think they can afford to do this. They have to take some risk.
Sprint: Who Wants 4G? ? 24/7 Wall St.
I believe that Sprint has to charge some amount of money for the new services/features that they are providing because after all, Sprint has been bleeding money for a while now and has to have a plan that indicates profitability at some point in the not to distant future. While this 10.00 fee will not do it alone it could help.
Sprint is risking a lot with their current strategy and it has to pay off for them or they will become a minor player in the future telecom market. I believe that the 10.00 fee is just part of their risk management strategy.
As a long time Sprint customer, whose contract expires next month, I am trying to decide if I will stay with Sprint and get the EVO, or bolt to Verizon and get the incredible. Cost wise, with my employers discount with Verizon, they will be pretty close in price. Where I live I don?t have 4G and the place where I travel at lot (Pittsburgh, PA) does not have 4G either.
At this point I am not sure which direction I will go in, but the 10.00 will have not affect on the decision.
JW