Despite new PTT promises, Nextelians leave in droves
Well, I'd say that Sprint's Q2 results speak for themselves, and they pretty much support what I said in my earlier posts in this thread:
https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/discuss.php?fm=m ... »
If Sprint's customer service is so good, and their future so bright, why is it that 327,000 iDEN customers left just last quarter, despite the fact that Sprint announced they would have the "next generation" of push-to-talk over CDMA, with high-speed data in addition to great new PTT features, starting the end of this year (2011)? "A new generation of PTT that will not only be as good as Nextel iDEN, but better." And yet, KNOWING that this supposedly great new PTT system of Sprint's is just around the corner a few short months ...
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https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/discuss.php?fm=m ... »
If Sprint's customer service is so good, and their future so bright, why is it that 327,000 iDEN customers left just last quarter, despite the fact that Sprint announced they would have the "next generation" of push-to-talk over CDMA, with high-speed data in addition to great new PTT features, starting the end of this year (2011)? "A new generation of PTT that will not only be as good as Nextel iDEN, but better." And yet, KNOWING that this supposedly great new PTT system of Sprint's is just around the corner a few short months ...
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cellphonesaretools said:
...An intelligent person has to ask him/herself: With the superb, never-been-equalled iDEN PTT going away soon, why would any customer stick around for Sprint's inferior service and inferior networks when they can go to Verizon and get good service and a great network? What could possibly be the drawing card for former Nextel customers to put up with Sprint's historically weak performance, when Sprint's cross-town rival Verizon is so much better in all respects (that is, once iDEN is gone)?
An intelligent person would know that nothing you have stated is even remotely accurate. Consumer Reports just rated Sprint's network equal to Verizon's. Their customer service was rated tops.
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Swing & a miss! You completely missed the point and failed to answer the question. But I'll help you out a bit:
Verizon's churn is HALF that of Sprint's (VZ postpaid churn currently at 0.89%, Sprint's postpaid churn currently at 1.75%). You can keep on your blinders and go around thinking that Sprint is "tops", but the churn numbers refute your opinion. Sprint has improved, but Sprint is definitely not "tops" - Verizon still kicks Sprint's butt around the block, daily.
You can consider Nextel to have dated technology, which in relation to data is true. However, Nextel's voice calls are every bit as good as VZ's or Sprint's (we use both VZ & Nextel, with close friends who have Sprint, so the comparison is accurate in this part of the U...
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Verizon's churn is HALF that of Sprint's (VZ postpaid churn currently at 0.89%, Sprint's postpaid churn currently at 1.75%). You can keep on your blinders and go around thinking that Sprint is "tops", but the churn numbers refute your opinion. Sprint has improved, but Sprint is definitely not "tops" - Verizon still kicks Sprint's butt around the block, daily.
You can consider Nextel to have dated technology, which in relation to data is true. However, Nextel's voice calls are every bit as good as VZ's or Sprint's (we use both VZ & Nextel, with close friends who have Sprint, so the comparison is accurate in this part of the U...
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cellphonesaretools said:
Swing & a miss! You completely missed the point and failed to answer the question. But I'll help you out a bit:
The point was, and the question is, why is it that Sprint STILL can't hang onto its existing customers?
If you can't answer that question, just forget it, because that's all that matters in terms of Sprint's long-term survival.
The reason Sprint cannot hang onto its existing (iDEN) customer base is because nobody cares about PTT technology anymore. Most businesses are looking to smartphones that multi-task.
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gloopey1 said:
The reason Sprint cannot hang onto its existing (iDEN) customer base is because nobody cares about PTT technology anymore. Most businesses are looking to smartphones that multi-task.
OK, let's assume for the sake of discussion your theory is correct, no one cares about PTT, all they want is smartphones.
Why then, if Sprint is so good, why wouldn't the Nextel customers who no longer care for PTT just stay with Sprint and trade in for a Sprint smartphone?
Why are so many leaving Sprint for VZ & ATT when they could more easily stick with Sprint and just "trade up" from their PTT handsets to CDMA or WiMax smartphones at Sprint?
Why is it that they all want is to get away from Sprint...
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cellphonesaretools said:
OK, let's assume for the sake of discussion your theory is correct, no one cares about PTT, all they want is smartphones.
Why then, if Sprint is so good, why wouldn't the Nextel customers who no longer care for PTT just stay with Sprint and trade in for a Sprint smartphone?
Why are so many leaving Sprint for VZ & ATT when they could more easily stick with Sprint and just "trade up" from their PTT handsets to CDMA or WiMax smartphones at Sprint?
Why is it that they all want is to get away from Sprint, and why is it that Sprint is effectively powerless to keep them?
My guess would be that folks who have had Nextel for years probably assume that Sprint's coverage is about t...
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re: "The perception is that at&t and Verizon have better coverage."
>>> That's not just a perception, it is real-world fact. Sprint's total coverage (incl Sprint's own CDMA, plus all their roaming partners) is still significantly less than VZ's or ATT's total coverage.
No, people are leaving Nextel for VZ and ATT because they have first-hand knowledge that Sprint is a distant third to VZ and ATT in terms of overall cellular capability (coverage, performance, service, satisfaction, etc).
Sprint wins with their plans, but VZ and ATT win in terms of overall capability (coverage, performance, phone selection). VZ and ATT customers may indeed pay more on average than Sprint customers, but that's because VZ & ATT customers get significant...
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>>> That's not just a perception, it is real-world fact. Sprint's total coverage (incl Sprint's own CDMA, plus all their roaming partners) is still significantly less than VZ's or ATT's total coverage.
No, people are leaving Nextel for VZ and ATT because they have first-hand knowledge that Sprint is a distant third to VZ and ATT in terms of overall cellular capability (coverage, performance, service, satisfaction, etc).
Sprint wins with their plans, but VZ and ATT win in terms of overall capability (coverage, performance, phone selection). VZ and ATT customers may indeed pay more on average than Sprint customers, but that's because VZ & ATT customers get significant...
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cellphonesaretools said:
re: "The perception is that at&t and Verizon have better coverage."
>>> That's not just a perception, it is real-world fact. Sprint's total coverage (incl Sprint's own CDMA, plus all their roaming partners) is still significantly less than VZ's or ATT's total coverage.
Uh, no.
Sprint covers 309 million people, which is nearly the entire population of the United States--the same as Verizon and more than AT&T (307 million). Nextel covers about 278 million.
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...While the 29-31 million less with Nextel may seem comparatively small, most of those folks not covered live in mostly rural areas with populations less than 10,000. This means that if you have Nextel and travel through those communities, you have no coverage at all.
Yeah, I'll stick with my original statement that most folks have the "less coverage with Sprint" misconception.
Yeah, I'll stick with my original statement that most folks have the "less coverage with Sprint" misconception.
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Which, BTW, points up a major reason why the original Nextel was so much more operationally efficient than either Sprint or Verizon.
Nextel iDEN covers 278 million POPS and 978,000 square miles of area. That averages to 284 POPS per square mile.
Going by your numbers, Sprint & Verizon CDMA cover 309 million POPS and 2,900,000 square miles, which averages to 106 POPS per square mile.
Looks like Nextel was the smartest and most efficient - at least until Sprint took it over.
Nextel iDEN covers 278 million POPS and 978,000 square miles of area. That averages to 284 POPS per square mile.
Going by your numbers, Sprint & Verizon CDMA cover 309 million POPS and 2,900,000 square miles, which averages to 106 POPS per square mile.
Looks like Nextel was the smartest and most efficient - at least until Sprint took it over.
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Hmmm...you must have gotten those numbers from Sprint's own "Network Vision" press releases.
Could Sprint's own press releases possibly be biased in their favor? Naaahhh - couldn't be.
If Sprint's CDMA already covers "...nearly the entire population of the United States...", to use your very own words, why on earth would Sprint now be going to all the expense and hassle of converting most of the existing iDEN 850 MHz spectrum over to CDMA? If Sprint's CDMA already covers the same POPS as Verizon's, as you say, why bother?
Why wouldn't Sprint spend their precious capital on building out their 4G network?
Could Sprint's own press releases possibly be biased in their favor? Naaahhh - couldn't be.
If Sprint's CDMA already covers "...nearly the entire population of the United States...", to use your very own words, why on earth would Sprint now be going to all the expense and hassle of converting most of the existing iDEN 850 MHz spectrum over to CDMA? If Sprint's CDMA already covers the same POPS as Verizon's, as you say, why bother?
Why wouldn't Sprint spend their precious capital on building out their 4G network?
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