sprint
Sprint CEO admits that WiMAX was a failure
Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint has admitted that the making the first move wasn’t the right thing to do. In a recent interview, the CEO mentioned that company’s investment in WiMAX hasn’t paid off even though they were the first ones to bring the service to America. WiMAX technology just wasn’t good enough to give them the 4G lead they had hoped for. Hesse also mentioned that another cause of the failure was the unexpected deployment of an LTE network from Verizon. With consumers looking for faster wireless access, LTE is now the obvious choice, and Sprint will be losing out on a lot of customers to Big Red. Sprint would have gone with the LTE route, but the structure for it wasn’t available in time when they wanted to announce their 4G network. Since they wanted to be the first in the game, they didn’t wait and decided to go ahead with WiMAX technology. Sure it gave them the advantage for a short while, and now they are paying for it in the long run. Looks like Sprint have learnt from their mistakes- they are even trying to work out whether they can migrate their services to LTE. Sometimes being first to the party may a good thing but not all the time- I guess and this is one of those cases. How many of you WiMAX subscribers are planning to jump over to Verizon’s 4G LTE services?
[image credit: zimbio]
Both Boingo Wireless as well as Sprint has just announced a multi-year Wi-Fi agreement. In other words, this particular agreement will deliver access to seamless and secure Boingo Wi-Fi networks across 35 major airports ver in the U.S. This will make use of Boingo’s industry-leading network technology, where connecting to Wi-Fi will soon be a snap, and is as safe as cellular.
Basically, all Sprint devices that are within proximity of a Boingo hotspot can connect automatically to the Wi-Fi network without missing a beat, offering service at the fastest speeds available, regardless of whether that cellular is from Sprint or Wi-Fi from Boingo. Thanks to the auto-authenticating Wi-Fi connections, they are available at no extra charge to all Sprint customers who happen to have capable devices, while usage when connected to Wi-Fi will not eventually count towards a customer’s monthly service plan.
Sprint and Boingo has already conducted successful market trials through millions of Sprint handsets, and it has clearly shown the consumer benefits of effortless authentication onto Boingo’s network. [Press Release]
It was just yesterday that we learned how Sprint has decided to entice travelers with something that is worth checking out – especially if you happen to be one who lives out from a suitcase. I am referring to Sprint offering them free texting as well as international 2G roaming, now how about that? Well, it seems that Sprint has a whole lot more up their sleeves, where iPhone customers on the network can also initiate high-quality calls over Wi-Fi with their very own phone number.
This is made possible through a software update that will be delivered, and such a capability will then enable Sprint to dramatically expand not only coverage, but also connectivity options for customers via a simple and easy Wi-Fi Calling experience for the following handsets from Apple – the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s.
David Owens, senior vice president of product development for Sprint, shared, “Wi-Fi Calling is like a major expansion of our network, allowing Sprint customers to get coverage anywhere they have Wi-Fi connectivity. Traditional wireless technology has some limitations in places like basements and high-rise office buildings. Wi-Fi expands our customer’s connectivity in a big way. The addition of Wi-Fi Calling for iPhone customers is just one more example of how Sprint is getting better every day.” [Press Release]
It seems that Uber has gotten itself into some bad press lately, but this certainly does not detract from the popularity of this particular service that allows you to get from point A to point B in a safer manner as opposed to seasoned taxi drivers. It is said that there will be an Uber app which will be pre-loaded onto Sprint’s new Android-powered smartphones, although this particular promotion is said to run until the end of the year. Majority of the new Android-powered handsets on Sprint will feature the Uber app, although not all.
In addition, as an added incentive, Sprint is willing to fork out $20 toward your first Uber ride, assuming that happens sometime this month. How do you take advantage of this offer? Well, when you are about to register with Uber, just enter the coupon code SPRINT, and the carrier will then go ahead to lower your very first Uber bill to the tune of $20. Sounds like a pretty good start to your Uber experience, don’t you think so? [Press Release]