Sprint to 'Bet the Company' on iPhone

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Brilliant move of the day goes to Sprint for betting the farm on the iPhone. :rolleyes:

CEO, Dan Hesse, told his board the company “would have to agree to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years — a commitment of $20 billion at current rates — whether or not it could find people to buy them, according to people familiar with the matter.” That would mean Sprint would, at best, not break even on the deal until 2014, said the Journal.
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I dunno, Sprint is the only carrier with unlimited data left and people love iPhones. Could work out for them.
 
Yikes...

As an iphone owner, I do appreciate their quality, but there are some amazing Android devices out next year. The field is going to get a little less profitable for Apple as time goes on.

It makes me sad, too. If Sprint's coverage were better around here, they'd be my phone company. Same thing with Tmobile. They're the good guys in the U.S. phone market, at least relatively speaking.

It sucks that the nice guys finish last.
 
Especially if they are the first to price the services reasonably. That ain't been done yet.

$49.95 unlimited phone, text, web.... I'm In !
 
I'm guessing this will be the death of Sprint's unlimited plan.

Sad.
 
SilverSliver said:
I dunno, Sprint is the only carrier with unlimited data left and people love iPhones. Could work out for them.
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This is the only hope they have, and personally, I'm not holding my breath.

Sprint's not been particularly healthy fiscally for several years, VZW already was working on a deal to acquire them a couple years ago - I'm not so sure this wont happen yet if Sprint does go bust on this deal. I'm curious if the CEO has a contract already drawn up with VZW in preparation...

Of course this *IS* forgetting the fact that 2/3 of the iPhones will go to consumers who are historically likely to drop them in toilets/lakes, bust the screens, and overall have to reaplce them at least yearly... but 30.5M of them? That's a risky gamble unless there are some corporate deals lined up that are going to take in a lot of those devices...
 
This move isn't that crazy if what Dan Hesse has done so far is taken into consideration.

If anything, he's doing very similar moves to what Ford did. Sprint sold a lot of their infrastructure to free up some capital (since they used to own and upkeep most of their own towers), put a priority on customer service and now, he's looking to reorganize their future services with what is in demand from most carriers.

I don't really see anything crazy about that.
 
Sprint needs to be a major player if they want to survive. Most of their business moves have been bets so to speak, and getting the iPhone is probably a good move. I'm an avid Android fan, but it's nice to see Sprint getting more phones. I will probably go back to them in a year or so if they have good stuff to offer.
 
Sprint dug their grave long ago. Their customer service is appauling and their corporate culture is laughable.

I managed the Sprint account at my last position and came across their corporate customer service when I tried to order phone holsters and handsfree kits for over 200 phones. The only way they would allow for the purchase was to submit the order with a corporate credit card. Yeah, when you already have a very large bill from a company the last thing you want to hear is they don't trust you enough to charge the new items on your current bill. That transaction ended with Sprint losing a 2,000+ line account to Verizon along with the equipment purchases.

The best part was the call a week later asking WHY I'd moved all the phones. :rolleyes:

So, I have reason to have little love for Sprint. They are their own worst enemy.
 
Too bad Sprint couldn't do this 3 years ago. Now with all the cool phones, it will be a harder sell.
 
Loudspeaker said:
Sprint dug their grave long ago. Their customer service is appauling and their corporate culture is laughable.

I managed the Sprint account at my last position and came across their corporate customer service when I tried to order phone holsters and handsfree kits for over 200 phones. The only way they would allow for the purchase was to submit the order with a corporate credit card. Yeah, when you already have a very large bill from a company the last thing you want to hear is they don't trust you enough to charge the new items on your current bill. That transaction ended with Sprint losing a 2,000+ line account to Verizon along with the equipment purchases.

The best part was the call a week later asking WHY I'd moved all the phones. :rolleyes:

So, I have reason to have little love for Sprint. They are their own worst enemy.
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+1,000,000

couple that with so-so data speeds and ... you're where sprint is now
 
I'll be getting the iPhone 5 on Sprint. should bring me up to $50/mo for unlimited everything.
 
Sprint has little chance elsewise. I say bravo to them for the idea.
 
The rumor (from BGR) is the Apple will release 2 new smartphones. The iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. This 20 billion dollar deal grants Sprint a 6 month exclusive on the iPhone 5. AT&T and Verizon will get the iPhone 4S and the ability to sell the iPhone 5 in Q1 2012. If this rumor actually plays out Sprints gamble might pay off.
 
Unlimited data is the bigger selling point than just the iPhone in my eyes. Yeah, people want the iPhone, but coupling the ability to have it, and unlimited data? Just looks like they are expanding their phone options to sell more unlimited plans. If I wasn't grandfathered in with unlimited on Verizon, I'd consider an Android phone on Sprint, assume it had the coverage I needed of course.
 
Zepher said:
I'll be getting the iPhone 5 on Sprint. should bring me up to $50/mo for unlimited everything.
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...have no clue what the stips will be for the iPhone, but their "Employee Referal Program" was publicly accessible by using a widely posted exec's info. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but my friend signed up last year with it.

http://delivery.sprint.com/m/p/nxt/epc/epclanding.asp

Best cell plan available in my opinion (if you're not still on SERO). Since any calls to other cell lines don't use your minutes from the plan, it's unlimited everything for most people at $59
 
Remember the Verizon launch? Yeah not very buzz worthy. No one showed up. Sprint is going to see the same thing, a lot of nothing.

These iPhone users are more trouble than their worth. They hogged all of the bandwidth on ATT and are a bunch of crybabies.

The novelty of the iPhone has worn out.
 
StryderxX said:
The rumor (from BGR) is the Apple will release 2 new smartphones. The iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. This 20 billion dollar deal grants Sprint a 6 month exclusive on the iPhone 5. AT&T and Verizon will get the iPhone 4S and the ability to sell the iPhone 5 in Q1 2012. If this rumor actually plays out Sprints gamble might pay off.
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This is big, if true.

Link?
 
I think bringing in all these iphone users is going be what causes sprint to ditch the unlimited data.
 
It's HERO or ZERO time for the Sprint CEO!

I'm guessing he has nothing to lose... if a deal like that works out, he's a HERO and his Stock options will prove that too!

If the deal doe NOT work out... he has his golden parachute while the company crashes in a flaming fireball of bankruptcy protection, layoffs of corporate fat, and reorganization.

Maybe he'll be a Hero both ways depending on how you look at it! ;)
 
Personally. I think they should have told apple to suck a dick. Who needs the iphone. It's old news and there are already several android phones out that are as good or better than the iphone 5 will be when it's released.

Then again I dislike all things Apple on principal and will never buy one of their products no matter how good it is; because of they way they want to have absolute control over their hardware and software and the way they do business. They're easily one of the nastiest hardware/software companies out there.
 
plunger said:
Remember the Verizon launch? Yeah not very buzz worthy. No one showed up. Sprint is going to see the same thing, a lot of nothing.

These iPhone users are more trouble than their worth. They hogged all of the bandwidth on ATT and are a bunch of crybabies.

The novelty of the iPhone has worn out.
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Couldn't have said it better. iPhone is simply a household item everyone can have & that leaves very little to go nuts about.
 
terrybogard21 said:
Couldn't have said it better. iPhone is simply a household item everyone can have & that leaves very little to go nuts about.
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I think you are both underestimating a iphone on a 50 unlimited plan. They will sell.
 
Cali3350 said:
I think you are both underestimating a iphone on a 50 unlimited plan. They will sell.
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What is this $50 plan you speak off? I'm on the $60 unlimited plan, but in reality it's $70+ after the $10 smart phone fee, and taxes.
 
I REALLY liked sprint while i was with them the last couple years. The customer service was always top notch when we called, the prices are great and unlimited data rocks. That said theres not much use for unlimited data when i cant get a signal at home, work or anywhere i go frequently. Even when i did have signal it was mediocre speeds.

Since then i switched to Verizon, its more expensive, the customer service i have received so far has been the worst EVER. But at the end of the day i get service everywhere and the data is much faster. I do have the 2GB cap though but have yet to use even 1/4 i think people are more worried about the caps then they should be. Most mobile data is stripped down to have little to no impact on data usage.

Sprint already has solid phones, between the very underrated photon and the epic touch 4g they should have put that money into better coverage. They would still have my business if they did.
 
fattypants said:
Yikes...

As an iphone owner, I do appreciate their quality, but there are some amazing Android devices out next year. The field is going to get a little less profitable for Apple as time goes on.

It makes me sad, too. If Sprint's coverage were better around here, they'd be my phone company. Same thing with Tmobile. They're the good guys in the U.S. phone market, at least relatively speaking.

It sucks that the nice guys finish last.
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Yeah, I dumped Sprint a decade ago when I moved, due to no signal at all at my house. Ironically, the company I moved to decided about a year later to close their own network, and just sell rebranded service. From Sprint. So I had to switch again. Was on T-Mobile for a couple years with middling service at my house. Discovered AT&T had a good signal at my house, then the iPhone was announced. I got one, and have been on AT&T ever since.

Well, AT&T service has dropped since then, and as I know from a friend bringing over a Sprint phone, I do get Sprint now. I'm not tied to the iPhone, but if Sprint actually does get an "iPhone 5" that is at least equal to the Android phones out there, that would probably be enough for me to upgrade my phone and switch to Sprint in one fell swoop.
 
If Sprint was super smart they'd put it on there Boost Mobile prepaid and have a prepaid iPhone would send ripples in the market.
 
Arcticfox04 said:
If Sprint was super smart they'd put it on there Boost Mobile prepaid and have a prepaid iPhone would send ripples in the market.
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Why the fuck would Sprint want to put a heavily subsidized, and very popular, iPhone onto a low margin pre-paid division? Sprint wants to sell contracts.
 
The recently launched SGSII is a better phone than the iPhone5. Hence the Apple->Samsung lawsuits. Sprint having to find 7.5million new contracted accounts / year seems unlikely. Last quarter they only added 0.33 million contracted subscribers (postpaid).
 
Sufu said:
What is this $50 plan you speak off? I'm on the $60 unlimited plan, but in reality it's $70+ after the $10 smart phone fee, and taxes.
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I currently pay $30+ $4 tax.
I'll be bumped up to SERO Premium for $10 more/month but that gives me AnyMobile and Navigation. If the phone I get is a 4G capable phone, then I get charged another $10 bringing my total to $50 + taxes (est. $7).
I also have 3 Numbers that are free incoming/outgoing and I have one of them set to my Google Voice Number, which gives me unlimited minutes but I have to sacrifice the incoming Caller ID since the call has to show my Google Voice number for it to be free.
 
So srsly iono why prople are moaning about sprint coverage. You get free roaming off verizon towers. That's like two networks for the price of one. And cheap sprint prices. To dumb it down even more, its verizon coverage on sprint pricing (when there's no sprint service)

*free roaming on unlimited plans.
 
Whether you like apple/the iPhone or not, you have to admit that it will post big sales and is a significant market factor atm. Given that, if there's any truth to the exclusivity of the iphone 5 on sprint for even a few months, it's a big play by Sprint.
 
The problem will be if this turns out to be like AT&T for Sprint. All those iPhones are gonna kill their network which ain't the greatest to begin with. I have an HTC Arrive Windows Phone on Sprint and the service it pretty solid right now. But I also have a Verizon account and I have to admit, Verizon's network is just better, there 4G LTE is awesome.
 
As much as I hate iPhones, I'm glad to see Sprint doing this. If they can even make a decent dent to AT&T and Verizon, so much the better. Though I wonder how relevant the iPhone is, in a Android world. With Androids popularity already surpassing iPhone, how important is it to have an iPhone, even if it's the next iPhone 5?
 
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