I think Sprint may be going up for sale during the 2016 government auction

[NGeorge]

In my opinion, as we move forward (whether he can see it or not) the only thing that Son is engineering is a more expensive failure. He needs to be planning his exit strategy.

Sounds like Son neglected to include a multi billion dollar failure into his "visionary" 500 year plan.

So he sells... What is a new company going to do with it? Softbank has plenty of money... If they can't fix it, noone can - - unless Google or someone jumped into the ring.

For years Sprint preached about how NV was so upgradable and could host all sorts of competitive networks... This has been thrown around for years, but what if Sprint and Dish joined forces - - as in Sprint hosts and uses Dish's spectrum, and Dish can use Sprint's... Then Dish has to pay in for overall network upkeep as well, and inutuatally get a ready made network that they have a hand in improving as well... Think Bell and Telus type deal...

I guess I'm just trying to figure out what a company who bought Sprint could do with it that Son can't or won't... It's going to cost a similar amount of money to make it competitive no matter what you do - - which is probably why he has no buyers. I mean even Iliad of France offered 15 billion for T-Mobile which they rejected. If he was so desperate and willing to write off a huge loss, I'm surprised he didn't call them up and offer it on a silver platter... Reading the WSJ article, he's talking out both sides of his mouth...

I think he may have underestimated how hard it would be to merge with T-Mo, but I don't think he truly considered writing off Sprint... And to go from considering selling or writing it off to saying he's glad he kept it in under 18 months is pretty hard to believe, especially after he fought so hard to buy it.

N

[i0wnj00]

He needs to be planning his exit strategy.

SoftBank just dropped $87 million for another 5% of Sprint.
The fact that his company now just upped its ownership of Sprint is an incompatible idea with somebody that needs to be planning an exit strategy. Somebody planning who needs to be doing what you have stated should have started offloading his ownership in the company, not raising it. He will likely think about your idea once his Japanese handlers pressure him to "re-consider".

[jakeuten]

What makes you think 40 MHz is enough?

Verizon has proven that with 60 MHz (10x10 in 13, 20x20 in Verizon) that you can provide an ultra fast network.

Sprint using 60 MHz (5x5 in 25, 5x5 in 26, and 40 in TDD) could provide similar performance.

[Folstein]

Verizon has proven that with 60 MHz (10x10 in 13, 20x20 in Verizon) that you can provide an ultra fast network.

Sprint using 60 MHz (5x5 in 25, 5x5 in 26, and 40 in TDD) could provide similar performance.

Sprint can provide superior service if they run multiple 2x20 carriers where they can. I think that's their goal. Especially if they want to continue unlimited.

For that reason, I don't think they should/would sell.

[trupatriot1]

Verizon has proven that with 60 MHz (10x10 in 13, 20x20 in Verizon) that you can provide an ultra fast network.

Sprint using 60 MHz (5x5 in 25, 5x5 in 26, and 40 in TDD) could provide similar performance.

They're not similar and to act like they are is ignorant. Sprint's 5x5's are significantly more limiting.

Not sure if you're aware, but there is this thing coming up. It's going to be big. It's called the future.

In this thing called the future people are going to use more and more data.

What is sufficient today will not be in the future.

[jakeuten]

They're not similar and to act like they are is ignorant. Sprint's 5x5's are significantly more limiting.

Not sure if you're aware, but there is this thing coming up. It's going to be big. It's called the future.

In this thing called the future people are going to use more and more data.

What is sufficient today will not be in the future.

When you have half the customers and will be using a much more dense network it is similar. I'm sure Sprint will be realizing that having 40 MHz + 10x10 600 nationwide is much more important than having 60 MHz.

I'm aware of how limiting their 5x5 is. It's AT&T and T-Mobile's primary layer where I live. I'm using it right now. Having two layers and the potential to aggregate them is still something they can do.

All of this, and the fact that there will be more auctions as needed, says that they don't need more than 40 MHz. Their network is going to have to be so dense it'll probably reach peak speeds 95% of the time in most cities.

[vmobi]

SoftBank just dropped $87 million for another 5% of Sprint.
The fact that his company now just upped its ownership of Sprint is an incompatible idea with somebody that needs to be planning an exit strategy. Somebody planning who needs to be doing what you have stated should have started offloading his ownership in the company, not raising it. He will likely think about your idea once his Japanese handlers pressure him to "re-consider".

Masa being "handled"

More like being handed even more money to reach the goal of having America's premier network. I don't see him as being the type to run away with his tail between his legs, or having lacked a plan prior to purchasing Sprint. So the idea of merging with T-mo was shot down by the feds, no problem, there are more ways than one to skin Big Red and Big Blue cats.

[Julian]

SoftBank just dropped $87 million for another 5% of Sprint.
The fact that his company now just upped its ownership of Sprint is an incompatible idea with somebody that needs to be planning an exit strategy. Somebody planning who needs to be doing what you have stated should have started offloading his ownership in the company, not raising it. He will likely think about your idea once his Japanese handlers pressure him to "re-consider".

The money he just blew got him 0.5% not 5%. Buying some more shares in Sprint does nothing to help Sprint. The only play here is engineering a short squeeze followed by massive dilution (I.e. Sprint selling / issuing new shares) to raise capital. They're bankrupt within 2-3 quarters otherwise. They've already burned through $3B in cash the first 6 months of this year and only have $2B left. Unsustainable so something's got to give soon. The whole new proposed setup of Sprint now leasing its network vs building and owning it is all a charade in the end anyway.

[Morphling27]

{Additionally, I think Sprint should be selling off that 2.5ghz. Not only would it bring them money and benefit citizens by seeing it actually used fully, Sprint would get a secondary benefit. They would have at least 1 other big provider, maybe more, using phones with that band. So, they could be more cheaply made. I know many of your flaghship phones can go between all the carriers now, Iphones, Nexus 6, etc. But, this would trickle it down quickly to unlocked models and to lower end, bargain phones.

Sprint doesn't need to sell any 2.5ghz spectrum because there is already a big provider that use that band and it's called China Mobile with over 800 millions customers. See Apple put the 2.5ghz TDD LTE band on their phones because of China Mobile. Also Sprint parent company use Band 41 for TDD LTE.


You guys need to get out of the North American bubble regarding if Verizon or Att doesn't use 2.5ghz spectrum then Sprint is screwed.[/QUOTE]

As others have pointed out, Sprint would benefit not just from cheaper/easier handset access, it would benefit them in roaming in the future. Also, I can go easily buy a VZW phone that comes unlocked and ready to use on most/all bands for ATT and Tmo (obviously it'd work on VZW). I can't do this for Sprint at all and if I get their phone, unlocking it becomes an exercise in patience. Get out of the American bubble - ATT and VZW are some of the largest companies, in the world. To think if you had your business more in line with theirs on products it wouldn't make your business life easier is short sighted.

That's the question that Son hasn't found an answer for, and with the latest revelations being revealed is something he has struggled with ever since taking over Sprint. But as I pointed it out, he underestimated the USA. How he does it, is up to him and the extent the covenants his Japanese handlers will allow him to pour money into Sprint.

I hope he can do something. I don't know much about Softbank itself - are they not as flush with cash as I thought? Sprint needs to stay alive, regardless of my personal experiences with them as a carrier. We've seen the mobile field shrink in players by too much as it is.

Sprint can provide superior service if they run multiple 2x20 carriers where they can. I think that's their goal. Especially if they want to continue unlimited.

For that reason, I don't think they should/would sell.

Yeah, but they aren't really doing that in many places. They have the spectrum, yet they sit on it. Why not deploy it and just blow people away now? They would then get the jump on tweaking a network fully deployed and not have to do it as they go along.

Masa being "handled"

More like being handed even more money to reach the goal of having America's premier network. I don't see him as being the type to run away with his tail between his legs, or having lacked a plan prior to purchasing Sprint. So the idea of merging with T-mo was shot down by the feds, no problem, there are more ways than one to skin Big Red and Big Blue cats.

Please tell me how they're going to take on Ma Bell? That's an honest question. They'll seriously need to do a plan like Tmobile by expanding their geographically coverage by double. If not more, as the Tmobile plan comes close in theory to what Ma Bell covers, but it'll still be below them if they finish it on target.

Given people stay with ATT and VZW because they are the only carrier that works, Sprint is going to have to enter those markets. Additionally, money isn't the only driving factor as people still stick with Ma Bell even if other carriers with cheaper plans are available. So, they have work cut out for them.

[trupatriot1]

When you have half the customers and will be using a much more dense network it is similar. I'm sure Sprint will be realizing that having 40 MHz + 10x10 600 nationwide is much more important than having 60 MHz.

I'm aware of how limiting their 5x5 is. It's AT&T and T-Mobile's primary layer where I live. I'm using it right now. Having two layers and the potential to aggregate them is still something they can do.

All of this, and the fact that there will be more auctions as needed, says that they don't need more than 40 MHz. Their network is going to have to be so dense it'll probably reach peak speeds 95% of the time in most cities.

The real world says hello. Also says you're wrong. They don't aggregate band 25 and 26 and probably aren't going to. They don't have any 600 MHz service and won't have any available for at least 3 years IF they buy some (I think they should, but Sprint doesn't always do what they should). Nothing they're doing points to what you claim though. You're relying on a lot of "ifs" to make your 40 MHz theory sound plausible, but you need to look where things will be in 5-10 years.

[jakeuten]

The real world says hello. Also says you're wrong. They don't aggregate band 25 and 26 and probably aren't going to. They don't have any 600 MHz service and won't have any available for at least 3 years IF they buy some (I think they should, but Sprint doesn't always do what they should). Nothing they're doing points to what you claim though. You're relying on a lot of "ifs" to make your 40 MHz theory sound plausible, but you need to look where things will be in 5-10 years.

Sprint's 800 licenses won't cut it long term based on what you're saying. Long term, 5 MHz will seem like less and less. In some areas (IBEZ) I've heard as little as 3 MHz LTE.

Why are T and VZ's networks so strong and cover so many people? They have enough bandwidth and a low frequency. Verizon got away with it until 2013. Sprint can't just deploy it all, and they can't rely on it exclusively. T-Mobile learned their lesson with AWS, and Verizon learned their's with 700, and T-Mobile bought 700 and Verizon started using AWS.

Sprint can get large sums of money from the other 3 for their BRS licenses. They could potentially rack up enough to get a large chunk of 600. Do you think Sprint is going to rake up so many customers within 3-4 years that 40 MHz of BRS will be saturated? Have they gained any substantial amounts of customers in years? Sprint has 20 MHz of BRS deployed in islands in my city. It hasn't lost any capacity.

If Sprint were worried about capacity, they would be doing more than 2xCA and mention plans of it. Why aren't VZ and T running around buying high band licenses? Sure, T has WCS but that's not much. T-Mobile's LTE network is much faster than Sprint's and has less bandwidth deployed. (Theoretically) T-Mobile can have as little as 5 MHz deployed, as is the case in my market, but still has much better performance than Sprint even though Sprint has 25, 26 and some 41 here.

Moral of the story is Sprint is basically wasting spectrum. If capacity becomes an issue, add density. Two things make a fast network: Spectrum and Density.

[trupatriot1]

Band 25 and 26 don't cut it NOW. You're too shortsighted to see where the wireless world is going. I hope you remember this chat in 10 years.

[Morphling27]

Band 25 and 26 don't cut it NOW. You're too shortsighted to see where the wireless world is going. I hope you remember this chat in 10 years.

Except we have a history of Sprint and 10 years with spectrum. It was 10 years ago they got Nextel and its spectrum. The SMR is still not being used extensively for any technology that's 2G or 4G. You'd think that would have been some type of priority... in a decade.

Also, the BRS - I think they got some of that from Nextel in their weird swap with Clear and whatever. They've also had that for at least the better part of a decade. I once again don't see much of it deployed nor are they even use all the MHZ they do have deployed. So... once again, almost a decade with that spectrum with so little to show for it.

They're limping along with the same PCS spectrum they've always had. It was great in the 2000s, but that's a decade ago. Heck, the only LTE they have widely deployed is.... drum roll please 5+5 of PCS G block. Woo hoo.

[trupatriot1]

Except we have a history of Sprint and 10 years with spectrum. It was 10 years ago they got Nextel and its spectrum. The SMR is still not being used extensively for any technology that's 2G or 4G. You'd think that would have been some type of priority... in a decade.

Also, the BRS - I think they got some of that from Nextel in their weird swap with Clear and whatever. They've also had that for at least the better part of a decade. I once again don't see much of it deployed nor are they even use all the MHZ they do have deployed. So... once again, almost a decade with that spectrum with so little to show for it.

They're limping along with the same PCS spectrum they've always had. It was great in the 2000s, but that's a decade ago. Heck, the only LTE they have widely deployed is.... drum roll please 5+5 of PCS G block. Woo hoo.

5x5 LTE is never going to cut it. No matter how many years you have it. Which is why I previously talked about adding more B41. Keep up here.

So you want to compare the last 10 years, when they didn't build out towers, increase density or get new spectrum to where the next 10 years are going to be?

you're going to compare a company that made terrible business decisions and loaded itself with debt and had to shut down and entire company (nextel) to sprint that is now owned by softbank and investing in its services?

Next are you going to tell me about chemtrails?

[Morphling27]

5x5 LTE is never going to cut it. No matter how many years you have it. Which is why I previously talked about adding more B41. Keep up here.

So you want to compare the last 10 years, when they didn't build out towers, increase density or get new spectrum to where the next 10 years are going to be?

you're going to compare a company that made terrible business decisions and loaded itself with debt and had to shut down and entire company (nextel) to sprint that is now owned by softbank and investing in its services?

Next are you going to tell me about chemtrails?

I think the personal attack is a bit odd and also the combined red herring of some chemtrail conspiracy? I wasn't relating my argument by uncovering some clues or Jason Borne type scheme going on here... anyway, back on topic.

Yes we're discussing band 41 being released, but they haven't put it in many places yet nor have they used the full amount they own by any means. They have upwards of 60mhz in many places and only recently have we seen 40mhz. So, either sell it or use it. Do something with it. It doesn't do Sprint any good to say they have X amount if it sits with no transmissions happening on those microwaves.

Next, I think it's quite valid to compare the past 10 years to going forward. It shows a long pattern. It's also how business and humans attempt to plan for the future. I don't have a crystal ball, so I'm going to point to past examples of what the company did. Also, you mention Softbank and Masa here and how they aren't like previous management or corporate culture. I think the recent revelations show they are very similar. Masa hems and haws about what to do and if it's worth it or to even fully invest in the network. Just like in years past when they let their EVDO network rot and the wimax debacle and the slow time getting on the LTE train.

Also, the current management, under Softbank, Mr. Son, and Mr. Marcelo, have given us great things like the Radioshack purchase. That cost them money and is going to going forward to either pay for the stores lease/employees or shut them down. The deal has been going on a few months now and I don't see how it really affected Sprint's numbers in a positive way. Also, I've mentioned many times, I don't think a lack of retail presence was Sprint's pressing problem. They had stores in most areas where the other wireless carriers clustered and at least offered as many stores in the city overall as the other 3.