Sprint's iDEN Base Drops 10% In One Quarter
This is why
The reason Sprint is coming up with other PTT solutions in the first place is because as phones become more data oriented iDen is not meant to be a high speed network in that sense. Data speeds are very slow on iDen. So a lot of people may be jumping ship just to get faster Internet speeds and to get the Smart Phones since there are very few smart phones on the network currently. Motorola has put out one decent smart phone on iDen but your back to the same problem with the data speeds lacking.
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It's ironic that iDEN is slow on data (it was not designed for data - unfortunately) but it is still the undisputed performance king with sub-second PTT.
Conversely, CDMA 3G, GSM/HSPA+ and the new 4G's are lightning-fast on data but so terribly slow on PTT (which they were not designed for) that most people don't bother to use PTT on Verizon or ATT.
There's a lesson in there somewhere...things that are designed and purpose-built usually do well, whereas johhny-come-lately feature add-ons are generally poor performers. "You pay your money and you make your choice."
In fairness to Nextel, before Sprint bought them they were already working hard on adding a new purpose-built, high-bandwidth data system to run in parallel with their iDE...
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Conversely, CDMA 3G, GSM/HSPA+ and the new 4G's are lightning-fast on data but so terribly slow on PTT (which they were not designed for) that most people don't bother to use PTT on Verizon or ATT.
There's a lesson in there somewhere...things that are designed and purpose-built usually do well, whereas johhny-come-lately feature add-ons are generally poor performers. "You pay your money and you make your choice."
In fairness to Nextel, before Sprint bought them they were already working hard on adding a new purpose-built, high-bandwidth data system to run in parallel with their iDE...
(continues)
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cellphonesaretools said:...
It's ironic that iDEN is slow on data (it was not designed for data - unfortunately) but it is still the undisputed performance king with sub-second PTT.
Conversely, CDMA 3G, GSM/HSPA+ and the new 4G's are lightning-fast on data but so terribly slow on PTT (which they were not designed for) that most people don't bother to use PTT on Verizon or ATT.
There's a lesson in there somewhere...things that are designed and purpose-built usually do well, whereas johhny-come-lately feature add-ons are generally poor performers. "You pay your money and you make your choice."
In fairness to Nextel, before Sprint bought them they were already working hard on adding a new purpose-built, high-bandwidth
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jrfdsf said:
If I were running Sprint, I would never shut down iDEN.
😳 Then it's probably a good thing that you aren't running Sprint.
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print never should have bought Nextel in the first place. They could have purchased Alltel and U.S. Cellular and perhaps had a stronger network.
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Azeron said:
print never should have bought Nextel in the first place. They could have purchased Alltel and U.S. Cellular and perhaps had a stronger network.
Exactly
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i agree with you. shutting down IDEN is a big problem. that loss of revenue right there.
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It isn't actually a loss of revenue...the reason they are getting rid of it is because it doesn't generate revenue, indeed, it is dragging the company down...
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it doesnt generate revenue?
what do these subscribers do?: "5.3 million on iDEN" (postpaid). and "3.2 million on iDEN" (prepaid)
they give monopoly money?
what do these subscribers do?: "5.3 million on iDEN" (postpaid). and "3.2 million on iDEN" (prepaid)
they give monopoly money?
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I think what he *may* be trying to say is that whatever revenue generated from the iDEN network is likely outweighed by the cost of maintaining a national network for fewer and fewer subscribers.
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um, no... That excuse sailed with the ship when they sold their "national network"... Ericson (sp) maintains both networks for a bulk price of 3 billion, and they sold all of their towers 3 years ago... cost cutting measures, so they didn't have to maintain any of it. The only thing Sprint "maintains" at this point are spectrum rights and SOME customer service... they cut a lot of the outsourcing for that but not all by a long shot.
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i think it is hard to tell what the other person was talking about. the capex for IDEN is small. i wish i had the figure to give you but it is small compared to the overall capex spent by Sprint on both networks.
they spend on avg $500m per quarter on the entire network (both CDMA and IDEN). thats about $2b per year. that is nothing. for them not being able to get more revenue is a problem. IDEN is doing nothing but providing that extra loyalty (well i guess not anymore) and a high profit margin.
they spend on avg $500m per quarter on the entire network (both CDMA and IDEN). thats about $2b per year. that is nothing. for them not being able to get more revenue is a problem. IDEN is doing nothing but providing that extra loyalty (well i guess not anymore) and a high profit margin.
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nextel18 said:
i think it is hard to tell what the other person was talking about. the capex for IDEN is small. i wish i had the figure to give you but it is small compared to the overall capex spent by Sprint on both networks.
they spend on avg $500m per quarter on the entire network (both CDMA and IDEN). thats about $2b per year. that is nothing. for them not being able to get more revenue is a problem. IDEN is doing nothing but providing that extra loyalty (well i guess not anymore) and a high profit margin.
The figure is unavailable because Sprint doesn't break out the numbers between the networks. However big or small the figure may be, any and every dollar of CAPEX that is being spent on iDEN a...
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2010 they spent a total of $1.45 billion on capex 🙂 i doubt it will be 50% to IDEN.
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The IDEN network is losing money, and I would bet dollar to donuts it alone is responsible for the bulk of the losses that Sprint has had in the last few years....
I have been trying to find the data to see the last time that Sprint posted a profit.....I'm not sure exactly when it was but one thing is certain: since the Nextel acquisition, Sprint's losses have accelerated. Maintaining two networks has caused the company to lose more and more money.
I have been trying to find the data to see the last time that Sprint posted a profit.....I'm not sure exactly when it was but one thing is certain: since the Nextel acquisition, Sprint's losses have accelerated. Maintaining two networks has caused the company to lose more and more money.
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how do you figure it is losing money? i dont understand where you get your information from. Sprint as a combined company in 2010 spent $1.445 billion in capex. that is nothing for any company. AT&T and verizon spend $10+ billion.
so out of the $1.445 billion how much do you think is for IDEN and CDMA?
so out of the $1.445 billion how much do you think is for IDEN and CDMA?
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*** rawvega said "The inescapable truth in all of this is that it costs more money to run two separate and distinct networks rather than one."
>>> CLARIFICATION FOR RAWVEGA: In our system of capitalism, COST means nothing, it is PROFIT that matters. Your statement is incomplete because it mentions only one side of the equation - costs - there is no info regarding revenue. Do you have any current facts about the total revenue and total costs associated with running iDEN?
*** Tbone said: "The IDEN network is losing money, and I would bet dollar to donuts it alone is responsible for the bulk of the losses that Sprint has had in the last few years...."
>>> FACT (CLARIFICATION FOR TBONE): The fact is that before Sprint took it over and i...
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>>> CLARIFICATION FOR RAWVEGA: In our system of capitalism, COST means nothing, it is PROFIT that matters. Your statement is incomplete because it mentions only one side of the equation - costs - there is no info regarding revenue. Do you have any current facts about the total revenue and total costs associated with running iDEN?
*** Tbone said: "The IDEN network is losing money, and I would bet dollar to donuts it alone is responsible for the bulk of the losses that Sprint has had in the last few years...."
>>> FACT (CLARIFICATION FOR TBONE): The fact is that before Sprint took it over and i...
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This forum is closed.
