Gizmodo
Fresh off, uh, fresh rumors that T-Mobile's making eyes at Sprint, the WSJ is reporting that Sprint is "seriously considering spinning off or selling its ailing Nextel unit." The Sprint/Nextel hybrid has basically been the poster child for train wrecks masquerading as mergers, with Nextel being much (but not all) of the heavy weight slowly sinking the USS Sprint. Here's three reasons Sprint should throw Nextel overboard and what it would mean for you.
First and foremost, Nextel is a massive, distracting burden for Sprint (it's got that old iDEN network to maintain, and is bleeding customers like a nasty, lacerated ulcer etc.) and anything that would make Sprint lighter and faster on its feet is a plus for its customers. Second, but not wholly unrelated, it would let Sprint concentrate on getting its WiMax ducks in a row. Third, losing all the weight would make Sprint even sexier to T-Mobile's parent, Deutsche Telekom, which is reportedly being urged by its shareholders to make a big acquisition. [WSJ, Sub req'd]
Comments
The Sprint logo turned little sailor hat is amusing.
Sprint needs to let more customers go.
It's brilliant.
@Kaiser-Machead: I know! I want one.
I dont get why Sprint bought Nextel. That push to talk boop boop craze was a quick to pass fad and Sprint should have known better. After joining Nextel I found they were horrible within 3 months but I was stuck for 2 years. The moment my contract was up I was gone, by that time Spring was a year into their deal.
sprint is gonna somehow someway get rid of nextel soon. they only promised to keep iDEN running until 2010, and they're already moving on to EV-DO phones with push to talk built in. CDMA phones get better coverage, in most places, than iDEN phones can, and can be made thinner. my money says that sprint forces all iDEN customers within the next 2 years to switch over to an EV-DO phone, and make the QChat software seem like, on the software side, a seamless transition from nextel, but much less iDEN bulk (maybe none at all) on the hardware side.
nextel is still popular with business...if you work in a place where iDEN doesnt get shitty coverage. but i bet that most customers will stay if sprint offers PTT on their CDMA network (unlike the hybrid phones that still use iDEN to make PTT calls) and makes the software side as similar to nextel as possible, and some ex-customers might even give it a second go.
All I can say is yay!
I'am so damn sick of hearing assholes chirp each other
I don't use sprint... but i kinda wish they'd feed douche bag Dicaprio to pet in the next story.
where I live nextel is the top provider. The push to talk is the reason
I wish helio/ earthlink/ sk telecom would buy out sprint
How will they break the news to her? Call her up on a push-to-talk phone, or maybe just send her a text message? Either way, Time Warner is watching closely to see how they could dump AOL.
@utube2007: +1
A lot of my friends and coworkers use that push to talk feature (yes, they are assholes.) It drives me nuts. I don't understand the attraction. Also, I stopped sending text messages to nextel subscribers a long time ago, because I would always get back messages that were completely screwed up, if I got anything back at all.
Anything that leads to the death of Nextel is a good thing. Those f-ing push-to-talk phones are THE most annoying thing ever to come out of wireless technology.
(With bluetooth headsets as permanent ear attachments a close second. Yeah, you douches know who you are. Your headset looks stupid, take it out. Nobody wants to talk to you anyway.)
@AaronZ: Some of us have recently been forced by state law to become temporary douche bags while operating a motor vehicle. We are not happy with living in douche bag denial. But I think chirping is much more ghey than that.
The f-ing push-to-talk phones are the problem, the problem is the f-ing users. I tested out a nextel phone for a weekend once for work, you can use the P-T-T function like a normal phone, you don't have to let everyone around you hear your conversation, that's f-ing annoying.
@bitgod: Agreed. I had Nextel for a few years, and it was indespensible for my line of work. Well, until Sprint bought them. I had no problem switching to Verizon. My hatred for Sprint is that deep.
does anyone realize that without Nextel, construction as we know it will not be able to happen?
@shamoononon: But he was so convincing in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? !
+ Watch video
@rimplestultskin:
but i bet that most customers will stay if sprint offers PTT on their CDMA network (unlike the hybrid phones that still use iDEN to make PTT calls) and makes the software side as similar to nextel as possible, and some ex-customers might even give it a second go.
Umm. Sprint offered CDMA P2T long before the Sextel merger. Its called ReadyLink and it works great.
I dont see what the problem with Nextel is.
1) PTT is the greates thing since cellphones.
2) Noone text messages me, ever.
3) My entire work and family are on a Nextel Plan so I am able to talk with everyone without using minute plans
4) Their phones take a beating.
Does anyone know how this might affect other countries with Nextel service. I live in Mexico, right on the border, and I have a contract with the mexican side. If Nextel USA goes down, think they might drag the other countries serice with them?
Thanks in advance
Not really sure wh@parad0x360: I hear ya. Sprint came out with their own ReadyLink (push to talk feature) about a year before they bought Nextel. This was not a popular option and only available on a handful of phones. I was confused about the purchase, but it someone explained that it made sense so Sprint could increase their network. I was skeptical.
I work for a delivery company, as the guy that manages all our nextel radios (~400). I understand the need for PTT (helps dispatchers get in touch with couriers, etc.), but I hate snextel with a fiery passion. Not a day goes by I don't have to call and be put on hold. And god forbid you call about a nextel issue and get a sprint person. If any other company (I'm looking at you, T-Mobile) offered a good PTT service (readylink never took off the way DirectConnect did), nextel would have died long ago. This merger was awful, and I hope nextel takes sprint down with it. Also the majority of the moto iden phones suck ass.
Yeah, I don't know how sprint could've afforded Nextel at the time of the merger. Seeing as how they sucked ass then like they still suck ass now. They actually brought Nextel down, and now are gonna leave to burn on it's own. What would be funny, if they did spin it off, and it turns around on them...
I recently got Nextel, and I love it. I have the new i335 phone. It's something they should've done a long time ago. It's not a horrible blocky phone.
But I use this in addition to my ATT Tilt. Most dispatchers, police, and first responders I serve with use nextel since it is extremely efficient and fast. And there is Widen. The network is not that obsolete. I swear, if sprint messes this up for me, I'll get upset. How about sprint keeps nextel as it is, but sell "chips" that can be added to other phones to integrate the PTT?
Start a discussion:
Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?