Sprint axes 5GB/$30 mobile hotspot plan, replaces it with 2GB/6GB tiers

by Christian Zibreg on May 22, 2012

Sprint Nextel, the nation’s third-largest wireless operator, announced this morning that it’s doing away with its 5GB $30 a month mobile hotspot add-on for smartphones and tablets.

Instead, beginning May 18, customers can choose between 2GB or 6GB data plans priced at $20 or $50 a month, respectively. As always, the deal involves some fine print you should be aware of… Read More

 

Sprint to start taking $100 off iPhone 4S with trade-in promotion

by Cody on May 17, 2012

Not to be outdone by retail stores like Best Buy and RadioShack, Sprint itself is said to start offering a major discount on its iPhone 4S this weekend.

TechnoBuffalo is reporting that it has learned that the carrier will soon launch a trade-in promotion that will knock the handset below $100… Read More

 

Best Buy offering the iPhone 4 for $50

by Cody on May 17, 2012

It’s pretty obvious that we love our iPhones here at iDB. But we understand the handset can be a bit pricey. So we do our best to try and pass along any deals we find regarding the device.

The latest sale we’ve come across belongs to Best Buy. The international retail chain is currently offering the iPhone 4, on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, for just $49.99 with a contract… Read More

 

Sprint won’t make money on the iPhone until at least 2015

by Christian Zibreg on May 17, 2012

Sprint Nextel, the third-largest wireless operator in the United States, won’t turn a profit on Apple’s iPhone until at least 2015, CEO Dan Hesse asserted during the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday.

So why did Sprint cough up a whopping $15.5 billion to get the iPhone in the first place?

Well, being in it for the long haul, Sprint is prepared to go the distance in order to slow subscriber turnover and create a new segment of higher-value subscribers. Plus, iPhone customers use less data and are more profitable, if Hesse is to be believed.

From Sprint’s standpoint, betting the farm on the iPhone and making huge investments in 4G LTE infrastructure will be worth it, even with the legitimate risk of bankruptcyRead More

 

Verizon to end grandfathered unlimited data plans in LTE switch

by Cody on May 16, 2012

Bad news for folks with unlimited data plans on Verizon looking to buy Apple’s new [purported] LTE-flavored iPhone later this year. It appears that the carrier won’t be honoring grandfathered unlimited plans in the switch to LTE.

Fierce Wireless is reporting that customers on the Big Red network will be forced to choose from a data-share plan when moving from a 3G handset to an LTE one. The news comes straight from Verizon’s CFO Fran Shammo… Read More

 

Sprint’s 4G LTE will be slower than AT&T’s or Verizon’s

by Christian Zibreg on May 9, 2012

As Sprint, the nation’s third-largest carrier, begins its long-overdue nationwide 4G LTE rollout, those keeping their fingers crossed for some crazy fast download speeds on a next-generation 4G LTE iPhone will be in for an unpleasant surprise.

While the carrier will keep unlimited data, whether or not the next iPhone has LTE (and we know the Now Network will be eligible for a 4G LTE iPhone), the handset will theoretically achieve much greater downloads speeds on rival AT&T’s and Verizon’s networks.

Here’s why… Read More

 

Sprint boss gets a $3.25 million pay cut because of high iPhone subsidy

by Christian Zibreg on May 5, 2012

According to both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has agreed to a salary reduction that will see his paycheck reduce by a whopping $3.25 million in this year.

Shareholders weren’t too happy that a formula Sprint uses to calculate its CEO’s compensation fails to take into account high iPhone subsidy.

Something doesn’t compute here… Read More

 

Would you buy a carrier-subsidized iPad?

by Cody on May 1, 2012

In the midst of all of the talk regarding Apple releasing a smaller iPad to reach out to budget shoppers, one analyst has another idea on how the company could lower the slate’s cost to infiltrate the budget tablet market. Carrier subsidies.

Analyst A.I. Houriani, of Seeking Alpha, believes that Apple could sell a lot more iPads if it could convince carriers to absorb some of the tablet’s up front costs in exchange for multi-year contracts — similar to what they do with iPhones… Read More

 

Confirmed: Sprint to keep unlimited data, whether or not iPhone 5 is LTE

by Christian Zibreg on Apr 25, 2012

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has finally addressed concerns that the carrier might drop its unlimited data plans for an upcoming sixth-generation iPhone. Speaking to CNET’s Roger Cheng, Hesse said his company has little interest in changing unlimited data plans by the time the next iPhone hits the market later this year, whether or not it is LTE capable.

Sprint is the only major United States wireless operator still offering an all-you-can-eat data plans to smartphone customers. This, as Hesse often puts it, remains the carrier’s “distinctive differentiator”Read More

 

Sprint activates 1.5M iPhones in Q1, but posts $863M net loss

by Christian Zibreg on Apr 25, 2012

Just as Apple posted its massive earnings, Sprint Nextel, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, published on Wednesday their first-quarter earnings ahead of the bell.

The carrier activated 1.5 million iPhones in the quarter and 44 percent were to new customers, amounting to 660,000 new iPhone subscribers. That wasn’t enough to save the day as the carrier reported a substantial $863 million net loss and operating loss of $255 million.

They lost $0.29 per share on wireless service revenues of $7.2 billion, a seven percent increase year-over-year. The carrier added 263,000 net prepaid subscribers under the Sprint brand – each spending an average of $4.03 more than last year.

Without the iPhone, Sprint would have actually lost 400,000 customers. The carrier’s ARPU was $59.88, a new record. The company added 1.1 million new subscribers during the quarter and it now commands 56 million subscribers in total… Read More

 
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