[gk1118]

mikesm,

I was just saying Sprint's CS has been really good to me over the years. If Sprint can not get their stuff together with the technology, I'll just switch to other carriers. I don't own stocks for Sprint or work for them. So I don't care. But for now, they offer me the best pricing, best phone for me (palm pre), and best CS. When 4G comes out to all carriers, I'll re-evaluate my choices and make a sound decision from there.

My post wasn't intended to "prove" or "negate" your argument. Just FYI.

[DeltaSPARTAN003]

Sprint is a National Security asset that isn't going anywhere...

Don't worry.

[mikesm]

Sprint is a National Security asset that isn't going anywhere...

Don't worry.

??? That's a funny statement. Yeah, they are the primary awardee of a govt cellular contract, but I wouldn't call it a national security asset...

[beret9987]

??? That's a funny statement. Yeah, they are the primary awardee of a govt cellular contract, but I wouldn't call it a national security asset...

That and they run the backbone for the FBI's Carnivore network. Wonder if Sprint is ever gonna sell the iDEN network to the US Government...

[yoshk]

As I said, indoor penetration is an issue. You need to install a femotocell like an airave to fix it if it's just at your house, but it doesn't help when it's in an office or other larger structure. Sprint's service just won't work as well because of the kind of spectrum they have.....

I knew this didn't sound right when I originally read it. You've mentioned this in several other threads as well. Verizon phones use the 800/1900 bands just like Sprint phones do. Just because Verizon purchased some of the 700Mhz spectrum that the FCC was auctioning doesn't mean you are using them currently as a Verizon customer. Those 700Mhz bands are reserved for the next-gen LTE network.
If you get better indoor reception it's simply because there is a closer Verizon tower that the piddly little radio in your phone can reach easier.

[mikesm]

I knew this didn't sound right when I originally read it. You've mentioned this in several other threads as well. Verizon phones use the 800/1900 bands just like Sprint phones do. Just because Verizon purchased some of the 700Mhz spectrum that the FCC was auctioning doesn't mean you are using them currently as a Verizon customer. Those 700Mhz bands are reserved for the next-gen LTE network.
If you get better indoor reception it's simply because there is a closer Verizon tower that the piddly little radio in your phone can reach easier.

There are no 700 Mhz constructed today. My comment here is that the gap between VZ and Sprint in low frequency spectrum is going to dramatically increase soon, and not get better.

VZ has 850 MHz spectrum and Sprint has none. Yes, Sprint phones can talk to 850 MHz towers on VZ's network in roaming mode, but only in 1x mode, not EVDO.

Also, in my experience, when inside a building and VZ has 5 bars of coverage, the sprint phone is constantly flipping between a crappy Sprint signal that barely gets coverage and VZ's robust 850 MHz spectrum.

So the fact that Sprint's phones can talk to VZ's 850 MHz network doesn't buy as much for you as you might think.

[Blackbeauty212]

mikesm = committed Verizon fan boi who doesn't really have clue what he's talking about.

[Mattykinsx]

Sprint needs to change their name.

They have a bad reputation.

No matter what they do, there's gonna be a group that doesn't care because of the past.

If they change their name, in a year sales would be up with everything they offer and are doing in the future.

[Deck82]

They are in need of a complete rebranding! They had the chance when they bought up Nextel and just ended up dropping the PCS part and also ****ed off just about every iDen user in the process. No U.S. carrier brand has been around as long as Sprint (1995) and in that 15 years have had their fair share of issues and bad decisions which causes past customers to never consider them again. No one remembers how bad Voicesteam was in both coverage and CS and then they become T-Mobile and all the past is forgotten. The original AT&T was also really bad but they get bought by Cingular/SBC who then sits on the name for a while and then rebrand everything back to AT&T because of the name. VZW was founded by Bell Corp which was AT&T Corp and they consist of every old "Bell" provider, GTE, and now Alltel. Comcast is changing their name to Xfinity due to the Comcast name being so tarnished by years of bad CS and Sprint needs to do the same. You change your name and the general public forgets who you were in a year or less. Once WiMax is rolled out to most of the country I think they should change the mobile service side from Sprint to Clear just like they did with Xohm. I really don't think there is any other way to turn it around. The handsets they have and will have are fine....the advertising does not matter because once people see "Sprint" they don't care. The CS is much better now but past customers will only remember the bad experiences unless they change their identity.

[Deck82]

Sprint needs to change their name.

They have a bad reputation.

No matter what they do, there's gonna be a group that doesn't care because of the past.

If they change their name, in a year sales would be up with everything they offer and are doing in the future.

You beat me to it! I should have just kept mine short and sweet.

[phillysdon04]

They need better commercials and they should have pushed their 4G service with every phone they released from the time 4G was available. This Palm Pre needs some 4G speeds because I can't even play a youtube video without alot of buffering.

[whippingboy]

People are lemmings.

PERIOD.

Hardcore users change cell carriers and accept the outragous contract fees because they're determined- the MAJORITY of consumers however,- they get a contract because they've convinced the rest of their family to be on the same carrier. Verizon is, was, and will remain- the most expensive carrier in the market- and yet my relatives have NO MONEY but they insist on Verizon because "we're all on it so we call each other for free". Or " they have the best network" yet when I visit them - I have no cell problems on Sprint...

I tell them that with Sprint ALL CELL calls are free- and they don't seem to care. Then they see my treo or now my pre and always comment- wow- is that on Verizon? Until recently Verizon had no good smartphones only feature phones (LG env and the like) and they still wouldn't budge.

I still know people that stick with ATT due to Rollover minutes- SERIOUSLY? The iphone saved that company.

It wouldn't hurt to have Sprint rebrand- but they dumped everything into the Pre launch- and the pre wasn't ready for primetime unfortunately. (Otherwise we wouldn't be all drooling at every OS update- something I never did on my Treo 755- I'm still waiting for features of that phone!). Hopefully, Sprint will rebrand w/ Wimax- hopefully the Walmart deal will help w/ coverage and consumer acceptance- and hopefully Sprint will work to secure more big launch phones and do what it takes to promote them properly.

[Kujila]

My 2¢ on Sprint:

I switched to Sprint from Verizon when the Centro SERO deal-io came around a few years back. Love it! I'm very close geographically to the Sprint HQ so naturally there's very good service around here. My friend went in and merely complained about an HTC Touch Pro and they gave her a brand new Palm Pre at no cost. I've had really good experiences with TEP and my local store as well; they generally get me up in running in a day or two, usually with brand new equipment (or my old stuff fixed!) I personally don't ever have trouble with dropped calls or bad coverage. Sometimes in apartment buildings but I expect that on any carrier.

Did I mention my SE+ plan is the cheapest "fancy-phone with unlimited data/msg" plan that I can find on any carrier? Also, even with just 500 minutes, "Any mobile any time" is so great that last month 220 minutes were free and not counted against my 500 because they were non-land line calls. My actual minutes used was minimal.

Plus Sprint will keep your phone on foreeeevver even if you don't pay them for months on end, they just keep billing you Just remember to be nice and pay them back

[EDIT] I also voted for "Bad Prior Experience" as my entire family shuns me for even daring to use Sprint and they each have their Sprint horror stories.

[6tr6tr]

Actually, Sprint's customer service used to be AMAZING. You could get extra minutes, money off your bill and free stuff every time you spoke to them in person or over the phone....then they "merged" with Nextel and it all went downhill. Their handsets sucked, their customer service was HORRIBLE and I swear the network got worse. It's only in the last 3 years that it's started going back to what it once was. Unfortunately, the Nextel years ruined their business.

[6tr6tr]

You beat me to it! I should have just kept mine short and sweet.

Or they could go the Dominos Pizza route. LOL.