Sprint banking on Wimax to win back customers

Found this article interesting
Sprint Banks on WiMax to Win Back Market Share | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL
So LTE has a higher user capacity per chunk of sprectrum but WiMax has more sprectrum to use. Advantage LTE for signal penetration of dense structures. I am in one of the 25 cities getting 4g in the near so hopefully will get to see first hand. I have also read that the hardware behind WiMax is mostly convertable to LTE (90% compatable is what I read) so Sprint could transition in time to LTE if WiMax proves inferior.

Wimax is already inferior. Just its the only 4g offering that has standards. Sprint is already in the works to change it over to lte when standards are available. Last I heard it was only a software upgrade.

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Originally Posted by gsoscott

I have also read that the hardware behind WiMax is mostly convertable to LTE (90% compatable is what I read) so Sprint could transition in time to LTE if WiMax proves inferior.

Their playing keep the dream alive game on wimax investors for money flow.
They will convert current wimax towers over to LTE by 4/2010 dropping new aircards to those that purchased wimax ones

so is wimax the same as uma/wifi calling? if so that might keep me with sprint. if not i'm really leaning towards the bb 9700 from tmo.

They're going to need more than WiMax AND LTE to stop the subscriber loss they're experiencing.

This is nothing new for Sprint/Sprint/Nextel. Here's an article from back in 2/08 discussing Sprint's failed marketing strategy of going after higher-risk subscribers: Struggling Sprint Reports Huge Loss - washingtonpost.com

Not inclined to believe the "main stream media"? How about this 3Q2009 press release from Sprint, raving about the best "subscriber growth" in 2 years. But wait... net subscriber losses appear to be about 135K for the quarter. Additionally, their P&L doesn't look so hot. YTD/YoY net revenues - down 11%. CapEx - down 43%. Post-paid churn was up. Sequential YoY net loss - increased by 47%. -> Sprint | News Release: Sprint Nextel Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

I'm no Sprint/Nextel hater. I try to take a fair look at the facts in front of me. The facts, as they appear to me, speak to continued problems in Sprint/Nextel's operations. Specifically, they keep losing customers. They're down (by their accounting, unaudited) 500K lines YoY. They keep posting net operating losses. To me, Sprint's sort of like the Sirius/XM of wireless providers. Sure, they offer great service, and have lots of loyal subscribers. They have a strong offering of devices and aggressive pricing plans. They spent some pretty decent CapEx dollars over the past few years, but that's dropped into the tank this year. They have issues with debt offerings, reissuing senior debt just in time to pay off maturing senior debt. I don't know. They're certainly not going out of business - they still generate $8B in quarterly revenue. But. If AT&T or VZW thought they could slip it past the FCC I wouldn't be surprised to see a merger. As an operator at some point you have to both retain customers (ie: flat to nominal growth in subscriber base) and generate a profit. You can have the best product in the world but if you don't hold onto existing and draw in new customers, and if you bleed $2B annually (which they're on pace to do), you're going to get gobbled up IMO.

i see the numbers and i know it shows losses but i guess they are making $$$ somehow. i want a bb that can truly compete with the other bbs that other carriers carry.

Lobby, I wouldn't count on uma calling being a feature Sprint will offer anytime soon but perhaps eventually something like that will be the norm. Here's an article I found on the net about WiMax:
.
Wimax October 27, 2009 Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth get 4G next week I keep reading that WiMax is a fringe technology that will surely die in the shadow of LTE. Apparently, US mobile WiMax carrier Clearwire isn�t listening. While the big,* authoritative talk coming from the LTE camp�s minions in the blogosphere make it sound like Clearwire�s technology does not work, there are plenty of users whose experience indicate otherwise. In fact, if you compare raw carrying capacity, Clearwire curently has the rights to a much broader swath of spectrum than any of its LTE based competitors. That means if a speed race evolves in the wireless space, Clearwire should be the winner. Then there�s the technology itself. While LTE is in the testing phase the current version of WiMax is mature. In fact, by the time LTE is out of the test phase, second generation WiMax could be on its way. Plus, if you want 4G service today, WiMax is the only game in town. I�m not putting down, LTE. When it�s actually ready, I�ll give it an equally objective review. With the new service Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth DSL and cable users will have a new competitive option to existing service. It will be interesting to see if a third option for those users is enough to start a price war. In the mobile space, this new pipe is a game changer. Initially, users will find themselves limited to access via traditional laptops, netbooks* and a very pricey new hand held device. In 2010, we�ll see new mobile devices entering the market that will signal the end of traditional cell service by enabling VoIP as a feature on any device rather than the primary function.
.
JL, I fully agree that if postpaid subscriber losses continue nothing will save Sprint. I do think that they have at least a 50/50 chance of stopping those losses in 2010. That 'pricey new handset' the article refers to will be 3 to 5 times faster than the Iphone 3g and will have all the bells and whistles. Combined with the anymobile anytime, aggressive pricing, and continued customer service improvements I predict they end 2010 with real net gains in customers under contract in addition to their already growing prepaid numbers. I would not want to be short on Sprint stock in 2010. Sprint mis stepped badly when they acquired Nextel and many of their current issues come from the management in place at that time. Whether they make it or not I will say that Dan Hesse is a very competent CEO who has made some great decisions. Hard to bet against him, imo.

Originally Posted by gsoscott

Lobby, I wouldn't count on uma calling being a feature Sprint will offer anytime soon but perhaps eventually something like that will be the norm. Here's an article I found on the net about WiMax:
.
Wimax October 27, 2009 Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth get 4G next week I keep reading that WiMax is a fringe technology that will surely die in the shadow of LTE. Apparently, US mobile WiMax carrier Clearwire isn�t listening. While the big,* authoritative talk coming from the LTE camp�s minions in the blogosphere make it sound like Clearwire�s technology does not work, there are plenty of users whose experience indicate otherwise. In fact, if you compare raw carrying capacity, Clearwire curently has the rights to a much broader swath of spectrum than any of its LTE based competitors. That means if a speed race evolves in the wireless space, Clearwire should be the winner. Then there�s the technology itself. While LTE is in the testing phase the current version of WiMax is mature. In fact, by the time LTE is out of the test phase, second generation WiMax could be on its way. Plus, if you want 4G service today, WiMax is the only game in town. I�m not putting down, LTE. When it�s actually ready, I�ll give it an equally objective review. With the new service Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth DSL and cable users will have a new competitive option to existing service. It will be interesting to see if a third option for those users is enough to start a price war. In the mobile space, this new pipe is a game changer. Initially, users will find themselves limited to access via traditional laptops, netbooks* and a very pricey new hand held device. In 2010, we�ll see new mobile devices entering the market that will signal the end of traditional cell service by enabling VoIP as a feature on any device rather than the primary function.
.
JL, I fully agree that if postpaid subscriber losses continue nothing will save Sprint. I do think that they have at least a 50/50 chance of stopping those losses in 2010. That 'pricey new handset' the article refers to will be 3 to 5 times faster than the Iphone 3g and will have all the bells and whistles. Combined with the anymobile anytime, aggressive pricing, and continued customer service improvements I predict they end 2010 with real net gains in customers under contract in addition to their already growing prepaid numbers. I would not want to be short on Sprint stock in 2010. Sprint mis stepped badly when they acquired Nextel and many of their current issues come from the management in place at that time. Whether they make it or not I will say that Dan Hesse is a very competent CEO who has made some great decisions. Hard to bet against him, imo.

Thanks for the article.

I do wonder how many of those customers who left are from the Nextel/iden side.

I was with nextel from 2001 until I bought the 8830we. I'd still be there if the 8350i had come out sooner.

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