The future of Sprint

[Sledgstone 8,672]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/10/15/sprint-sells-percent-company-japanese-firm/Tjcsgx6Ko3UgWadvryvYtM/story.html
 

 TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Softbank has agreed to buy 70 percent of Sprint for $20.1 billion, giving the struggling US cellphone company an infusion of cash and confidence.

The deal, announced Monday in Tokyo, positions Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint Nextel Corp. as a stronger competitor to market leaders Verizon Wireless and AT&T, but it doesn’t solve some of the company’s underlying problems.

Softbank Corp. is the No. 3 cellphone company in Japan, but has a better track record. Originally a holding company with investments in Internet and telecom businesses, it bought Vodafone Japan in 2005 and turned it around. Softbank President Masayoshi Son said he is confident he can help improve Sprint’s profits.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has laid the groundwork for a turnaround — the company’s reputation for customer service has improved during his tenure. But his efforts haven’t had an immediate impact on profitability. Sprint has lost money for five years straight, and isn’t likely to reverse that trend in the next few years. On its own, the company would have a hard road ahead, as it pays for both a network revamp and $15.5 billion in iPhones from Apple.

http://gigaom.com/2012/10/18/sprint-gains-control-over-clearwire-with-stock-buy/

 

Striking a deal with Clearwire’s founder Craig McCaw, Sprint now has a majority stake in the 4G operator. Clearwire is still struggling financially and it will need a lot more cash to build its nationwide LTE network, but Sprint now has control over its spectrum.

 

Maybe now Sprint will finally improve its network. It pisses me off to no end that sprint is completely useless inside most buildings and offices. I have no reception in my work building with sprint, but verizon customers can stream netflix. wtf.

 

Both of those articles were from October of 2012.. so just when you think Sprint has a possibly bright future, you hear about a major failure like this:

 

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/16/169490562/wayne-dobson-doesnt-have-your-lost-cellphone

 

"Wayne Dobson Doesn't Have Your Lost Cellphone"

 

Many cell phones allow you to track them using GPS if they go missing. But the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports a technical glitch has, for two years, directed some Sprint customers who've lost their phones to the home of Wayne Dobson. Sprint says it's researching the problem.

 

The guy has so many ppl showing up at his house looking for their phone that he had to put a sign up in his yard.

 

How the hell could Sprint have let this issue persist for 2 years!? I wonder if that guy has sued for some kind of compensation yet.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Like politics, the cell phone industry has become a two party system, with a bunch of other smaller companies here and there. AT&T and Verizon dominate the markets, and because of this, us the consumer gets screwed. They are like Coke and Pepsi with their pricing, and since they have the more reliable networks, they had nothing to lose by taking away unlimited data and screwing everyone with grandfathered plans.

Everyone I've known with Boost Mobile, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Cellular South (now called C-Spire) has had some kind of basic issue with their phone service.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Verizon and AT&T must have the dominate spectrums for their network because I don't know anyone with a verizon phone that has connection issues. Sprint customers get the shaft.. Unlimited data is pretty pointless when outside of major cities there is a 90% chance of no data connection and in cities I almost never have a 4G connection. But now they are going to have a 4G LTE network.. screw that, fix the damn 3G service first.

 

I'm tempted to switch to Verizon once my contract is up, but the prices seem higher. I see where walmart has Straight Talk cell phones that let you choose what network to use when you sign up. A cheap monthly bill with verizon network sounds tempting but Straight Talk seems to get bad reviews.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Sadly you get what you pay for. My friend has those exact same issues with T-Mobile. They're more expensive but they work 95-98% of the time, inside and outside. Until they get some more serious competitors, I don't see prices going down anytime soon.