The Latest Sprint News

[Poke]

Get a free year of Amazon Prime when you buy a qualifying Samsung handset from Sprint this month

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Get-...amsung-handset-from-Sprint-this-month_id75556


Sprint recently came out with its fiscal second quarter earnings report, and for the first time in two years, the company reported a gain in the number of postpaid phone subscribers. That is a big deal to a mobile operator like Sprint. Remember, earlier this year T-Mobile jumped over the SoftBank owned mobile operator to take over third place among the four major U.S. carriers.

To keep the momentum going, Sprint is offering a free-year of Amazon Prime to customers who purchase a qualifying Samsung handset throughout the month of November. Amazon Prime will give you free two-day shipping. In an impatient world where everything travels at the speed of light, Amazon Prime gets you what you want, when you want it. Imagine a whole year's worth of free two-day shipping. And all you have to do is order the Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ or the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. The free year of Prime is a bonus valued at $99.

 

[Poke]

Sprint announces faster LTE Plus network, launching today in 77 markets

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-announces-faster-lte-plus-network-launching-today-77-markets
http://newsroom.sprint.com/blogs/sp...r-stronger-more-reliable-than-ever-before.htm

Sprint has announced the rollout of its LTE Plus network, available now in 77 of the carrier's markets. Built using LTE Advanced technologies like carrier aggregation and beamforming, Sprint's LTE Plus is meant to deliver faster speeds and more consistent service.

Sprint LTE Plus is built off of two key technologies, carrier aggregation and beamforming. Carrier aggregation allows Sprint to use multiple channels on their spectrum to create a larger data "pipe", leading to increased capacity and potentially faster speeds. Beamforming allows carriers to target signal directly at customers. Combined with three spectrum bands, you get the following, according to Sprint:

• Faster service with double the network capacity and speed, and peak speeds in excess of 100Mbps on capable devices
• Stronger service with smart antenna technology that extends the cell signal further at 2.5GHz
• More reliable service utilizing three bands of spectrum – 1.9GHz for broad coverage, 800MHz for better indoor service, and 2.5GHz for even faster data speeds

Sprint has launched LTE Plus in the 77 markets with support for these technologies, including New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The carrier already carries 13 devices with support for LTE Plus, including the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One A9. Sprint has also announced plans to increase the number of cell sites with support for their 2.5GHz, 1.9GHz, and 800MHz spectrum for a faster LTE Plus rollout.

 

[Poke]

significantly, so if you aren't a fan of switching carriers regularly you may want to pass this offer up.
ave you 50 percent on your existing Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T bill when you switch

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprin...ur-existing-verizon-t-mobile-or-att-bill-when

http://www.sprint.com/landings/countdown/#!/

Sprint is back at it again with a new offer to try and entice customers to switch to its network, and this time the carrier is claiming customers who switch can save 50 percent on their bills. If you are an AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile customer, Sprint is saying that you can save big when switching, though this is only good on most plans, not all. The new promotion is a way of celebrating network expansion and speed increases that Sprint has been working on.

So, how does it work? Well, you bring your existing mobile number from AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon to Sprint, and the carrier will cut your bill in half. At this time, the carrier does not say which plans are included or excluded, so it's not easy to tell on the surface whether or not your current plan would be eligible for the big savings. If you happen to still be in a contract, Sprint is offering to pay up to $650 per line for your switching fees.

The savings will be good until 2018, at which time they will likely jump significantly, so if you aren't a fan of switching carriers regularly you may want to pass this offer up.

 

[Poke]

Jefferies: T-Mobile could lose 50,000 subscribers to Sprint during the fourth quarter

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Jeff...s-to-Sprint-during-the-fourth-quarter_id76454

Wall Street trading house Jefferies believes that Sprint's current promotion might finally slow down the T-Mobile juggernaut. The deal allows AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon subscribers to jump to Sprint, while paying just half of their current monthly invoice. This is the second time that Sprint has offered a 50% deal, although it left T-Mobile subscribers out the first time around. With customers of the third largest U.S. carrier now allowed to take part, Jefferies expects Sprint to swipe 50,000 T-Mobile subscribers in the fourth quarter.

That reduces the brokerage house's estimate of net new adds for T-Mobile for the fourth quarter. Jefferies now expects T-Mobile to add 900,000 net new subscribers for the three month period, down from its previous estimate of 950,000. The carrier has recorded ten consecutive quarters with at least 1 million new customers on a net basis, so that streak is in jeopardy. Jefferies says if it is right and T-Mobile loses 50,000 subscribers to Sprint during the quarter, it would be the result of a "misstep by T-Mobile" rather than due to the success of Sprint's new half-off campaign.

"Given the inclusion of T-Mobile in Sprint's new half-off promotion, we reduce our postpaid handset net add estimates from 950k to 900k to reflect a modest potential impact...While it is too early to ascertain the impact of the 50% off promotion, the T-Mobile counter promotion could be an indication of early success, though we view this more a misstep by TMUS than a market inflection."-Jefferies

T-Mobile responded to the deal with an offer to reward Sprint subscribers who port over their numbers to T-Mobile, by giving them $200 in credit per line moved. But Legere and crew hardly put any effort into promoting that deal, which expired yesterday. What makes this so interesting is that earlier this year, T-Mobile finally surpassed Sprint to become the third largest carrier in the U.S.

You have until January 7th, 2016 to sign up with Sprint to qualify for the 50% deal. And Sprint will still cover your new phone balance or ETF up to $650 per line. To get that money, you will have to turn in your current phone and buy a new one from Sprint. New subscribers will pay the discounted invoice rates until early January of 2018

source: FierceWireless

 

[Poke]

Sprint has a free 32-inch Samsung TV for Galaxy S6 or Note 5 customers

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprin...people-who-buy-or-lease-latest-samsung-phones

Sprint is going to be giving a free 32-inch TV for people who purchase or lease the latestSamsung phones from the wireless carrier. The new holiday promotion begins on Friday, December 18 and lasts until December 24, or while supplies last.

The phones that are a part of this promotion are the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6, theGalaxy S6 edge and the Galaxy S6 edge+. The free TV that Sprint is offering is the 32-inch Samsung LED J4000, which is normally priced by Samsung at $419.99. People who want to get the TV must submit their Order Claim form by December 31 and the TV will be delivered within four to six weeks.

 

[Comptech]

Latest Sprint news here is a service outage going on for four hours now. Ga, Sc, and Nc all down, yet you can search their site and find no reason or expected time to come back up. And if you are on roaming you will get a answer that says this verizon number is not in service. Somebody connect the blue wire to the black wire?

 

[Poke]

Sprint kills 2-year contracts for smartphones

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-kills-2-year-contracts-smartphones

Sprint has gone through with its plans to 2-year contracts for smartphones, according to an internal document sent to us by an anonymous tipster. According to the document below, customers activating a new account with Sprint will no longer have the option of subsidizing their smartphone purchase with a 2-year agreement. Tablets, apparently, are still able to be purchased on such an agreement.


The move to ditch 2-year contracts for smartphone purchases now comes close to the timelineSprint announced in August, when it said it would do so by the end of 2015. By doing away with 2-year contracts, Sprint is catching up with Verizon and T-Mobile, who have also made similar moves, along with AT&T, which confirmed plans to do the same starting January 8.

 

[Poke]

Sprint lays off 2500 workers, moves earnings announcement up a week to tomorrow

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Spri...gs-announcement-up-a-week-to-tomorrow_id77716

Sprint laid-off 2500 employees on Monday, with the vast majority coming from six call centers that handled customer service for the carrier. But executives were not immune from receiving a pink slip. Five VPs were also laid off. The job cuts come on the eve of Sprint's fourth quarter earnings, which will be announced tomorrow. Wall Street is expecting the nation's fourth largest carrier to report the addition of 500,000 to 600,000 net new postpaid subscribers during the period. At the end of the third quarter, the mobile operator counted 58.578 million subscribers.

The earnings were originally scheduled to be released next week, but Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure wanted to soothe the jangled nerves of investors who have been dumping the stock. Recent reports that the carrier was going to overhaul its network were apparently over-analyzed by Sprint stockholders. The company said that it was looking to save up to $2 billion by switching to a backhaul system using microwaves. Claure said that he moved up the earnings announcement "to set the record straight."


As far as the job cuts are concerned, Sprint wanted to inform those affected before January 30th. Those dismissed after that date will be entitled to a reduced severance check that gives them 1 week of pay for every year of employment at Sprint.

Thanks for the tip!

source: KansasCityStar

 

[Poke]

Sprint Earnings Show Modest Improvement

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Sprint-Earnings-Show-Modest-Improvement-136155


Tuesday Jan 26 2016 10:30 EST
Sprint bumped up its earnings release by a week in order to try and counter the narrative that the company's in a bit of a tailspin. The new earnings somewhat support the idea of a slow turnaround. The company posted a narrower operating loss ($197 million) than many expected, with $209 million of that due to severance and exit costs tied to the company's ongoing layoffs.


Sprint did see a net loss of 491,000 prepaid customers on the quarter (compared to net additions of 410,000 last year), but that's in part thanks to Sprint's renewed focus on more valuable postpaid customers. On that front, Sprint says it added 366,000 postpaid subscribers, up from the 205,000 customers in lost during the fourth quarter last year.


The company continues to try to simultaneously cut costs while improving the company's lagging network, something Sprint CFO Tarek Robbiati insists is going well.

"Our transformation is taking hold and the momentum is accelerating,” said Robbiati. “Most importantly, we expect these cost reductions to be achieved without compromising network quality or impacting the customer experience.”

Given the high number of employee cuts and overall working-condition cutbacks, the same probably can't be said of Sprint employee morale.

"It’s clear from our quarterly results that we are making great progress on achieving our goals,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “Revenue has stabilized, costs are coming out faster than expected, postpaid phone net additions were the highest in three years, postpaid churn was the lowest-ever for a third quarter, and the network is performing at best-ever levels.”

 

[Poke]

Trade-in your current phone at Sprint to receive $200 off the Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy Note 5

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Trad...he-Samsung-Galaxy-S6-or-Galaxy-Note-5_id78123

With the Samsung Galaxy S7less than two weeks away from being introduced, the carriers will start looking for creative ways to get rid of as much Galaxy S6 inventory as they can. Sprint has come up with a trade-in promotion that will be offered for a limited time. The nation's fourth largest carrier will give new and existing customers a $200 credit toward the purchase or lease of the Samsung Galaxy S6 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, if they trade-in the smartphone they currently are using.


The device being turned over to Sprint must be in working condition, and cannot be a leased handset. Existing Sprint subscribers must be eligible for an upgrade. Sprint says that by applying the value of the trade-in, the Galaxy S6 can be leased for only $9.76 a month. The Galaxy Note 5's monthly lease price drops to $16.67 monthly.

Sprint says that the offer can be combined with its 50%-off rate plan for those coming over to Sprint from Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. The deal starts today at Sprint retail locations, and by the end of the week it should be offered online and by phone. This offer expires on March 3rd.

 

[Poke]

Sprint makes its unlimited LTE data plans more affordable for families

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-offers-families-more-affordable-plans-unlimited-data

Sprint has announced some affordable plans for those who are seeking unlimited data. From February 12, for a limited time only, customers will be able to get unlimited call time, SMS and high-speed data for $37.50 per line (when selecting two or more), saving a family of four up to $360 each year. Prior to the discount, each line would set you back $45. This will enable each of the four family members to take full advantage of Sprint's LTE Plus network without spending a fortune for a high allowance.

Here's how the pricing works. A single line costs $75, while two and three lines will set you back $120 and $150, respectively. Adding a fourth line is free and all extra lines (up to 10 total) are $30 each. As well as unlimited allowances across the board, Sprint will also offer 3GB of mobile hotspot access each month and unlimited 2G data in select countries as part of Sprint Global Roaming.

Pop to your local store for more details.

 

[Poke]

Sprint's latest plans offer double the data of Verizon plans for the same price

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprints-latest-plans-offer-double-data-verizon-plans-same-cost

Sprint has introduced a new set of plans, dubbed the Better Choice Plans, which take aim atVerizon's S, M, L, XL and XXL buckets, but offer double the data for the same price. The carrier has run numerous promotions in the past to get customers to switch to its network, like slashing monthly bills in half, but this is a great way for customers to get large data buckets at a more affordable price.

Sprint's data buckets will start at 3GB a month for $30, which Verizon only offers 1GB for $30 or 3GB for $45 a month currently. The plans will go as high as 40GB a month for $100 under its XXL bucket, which only nets you 18GB a month from Verizon. To further entice customers to make the switch, Sprint is still offering to cover up to $650 per line in switching costs when moving from another carrier. These new plans go into effect on Friday, Feb. 19.

 

[Poke]

Sprint does a 180, brings back two-year contract options for smartphones

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-does-180-brings-back-two-year-contract-options-smartphones

Sprint is bringing back two-year contract pricing options for its smartphones. The company previously announced it would ditch those contracts in August 2015, and it finally did so in early January 2016, but now the wireless carrier is offering those pricing plans again.

What happened? According to what a Sprint spokesperson told FierceWireless, it was based on customer demand:

"We listened to our customers and are giving them more choices to get their new device," Sprint spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein told FierceWireless. "Sprint is the only carrier to offer the most choices to obtain a new device -- lease, installment bill, two-year contract or pay full retail price."

The trend has been to offer customers either full price for purchasing smartphones or offer them under extended leases. T-Mobile has ditched two-year contracts, and AT&T has also gotten rid of those plans as well.

Source: Sprint

 

[Poke]

Sprint teams with Dixons Carphone to open 500 stores in the U.S.

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-teams-dixons-carphone-open-500-stores-us

Sprint has announced a partnership with UK retailer Dixons Carphone to open 500 new Sprint retail stores in the United States. The two launched a pilot program last summer, which seems to have been successful. Each company will have an equal stake in the stores, which will operate similarly to existing Sprint-branded stores run by third-party retailers.

From Sprint:

At this time, Sprint has not announced a time frame for the opening of these stores. Though locations are also yet to be announced, with 500 stores planned, it's likely that they'll pop up in several parts of the country.

Source: Sprint

 

[Poke]

Softbank Splits in Two, In Part to Protect Itself From Sprint

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/...-In-Part-to-Protect-Itself-From-Sprint-136453

Sprint's Japanese owner SoftBank has split itself into two distinct companies, in part to insulate the carrier from the fact that Sprint continues to struggle here in the States. The SoftBank announcement notes the move will separate SoftBank's core Japanese business from many of its overseas investments, in large part to protect the core company from the downward stock pressures created by Sprint's struggles. Sprint is in the middle of a $2.5 billion cost reduction effort, much of which has materialized in a series of major job cuts at the struggling operator.

 

[Poke]

Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow heads to Samsung Galaxy S6 on Sprint

Guess I need to check my updates

http://www.neowin.net/news/android-601-marshmallow-heads-to-samsung-galaxy-s6-on-sprint

Android 6.0 Marshmallow began its rollout over five months ago - but so far, just 2.3% of active devices are running the new version of the OS. Its availability on one more handset on one carrier in one market isn't going to make a huge difference to that percentage, but it will no doubt still be welcomed by owners of that device.

The handset in question is Samsung's Galaxy S6, which is now receiving the latest Android 6.0.1 release on Sprint. It's not yet clear if the update is also available for Sprint's Galaxy S6 edge, but if not, it probably won't be too long before it arrives.

The update bumps the Galaxy S6 up to build number G920PVPU3CPB6, and weighs in at 1235.87MB.

Along with the improvements that the stock Marshmallow update brings, Samsung has also added its own TouchWiz interface, along with other small tweaks including a new 'vibration pattern' when you receive calls and text messages.

While Marshmallow slowly continues to trickle out to more devices, Google has already launched aDeveloper Preview of the next Android version, known as the 'N' release.

Source: @RAZOR32308 via SamMobile

 

[Poke]

Sprint Drops Device Activation Fee From $36 to $30

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Sprint-Drops-Device-Activation-Fee-From-36-to-30-136477

In a rare price reduction for the wireless industry, Sprint is reducing the cost of new device activations in the hopes of luring more customers. Sprint is not only reducing the cost of new device activations from $37 to $30, the company is charging consumers the fee at the point of sale -- instead of hitting customers with the fee on their first bill. The change was first noticed by Wave7 Research, which claims it's part of Sprint's continued efforts to repair a tarnished brand.


This may or may not impact many customers, since Sprint often waives the activation fee via limited-time promotion anyway.


"Wave7 Research agrees that this effort may be a step toward addressing Sprint's reputation for 'nickel and diming' customers while charging low headline pricing," the firm said.

"However, this change is likely to be negative in terms of profitability. Sprint does provide select exemptions from activation changes, including some credit union members and certain business customers."

Sprint's desperately trying to get out from behind the shadow of current industry darling T-mobile, while simultaneously reducing costs by $2.5 billion, predominately via job reductions.

 

[Poke]

Sprint hits 300Mbps download speed on the Samsung Galaxy S7 while testing three-channel aggregation

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Spri...ile-testing-three-channel-aggregation_id79300

Sprint announced today that during tests, it was able to achieve a peak download speedof 300Mbps on an LTE connection using the Samsung Galaxy S7. The latter is one of the first handsets on the market to support the mobile operator's three-channel carrier aggregation. The carrier currently employs two-channel carrier aggregation for its LTE Plus service available in over 150 markets. While two-channel aggregation supports download speeds of 100Mbps, three-channel aggregation can reach download speeds of 200Mbps.

Three-channel aggregation allows for more traffic to travel through the wider channels, and at faster speeds. Think of it a road that has had its lanes widened to allow more cars to zoom by. Eventually, the three-channel carrier aggregation will be employed in Sprint's LTE Plus network. While two-channel aggregation uses 40MHz of spectrum on certain 2.5GHz cell sites, the three-channel aggregation employs 60MHz of spectrum on the same sites.

 

[Poke]

Sprint leak prices the LG G5 at $24 a month

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-leak-prices-lg-g5-24-month-360-cam-runs-199

Preorders start March 25, with the phone officially available April 1.

While we're still waiting on official word from Sprint regarding its pricing for the LG G5, we've gotten word from this week's Sprint Playbook on what we can expect the phone to cost. Just $24 a month for 24 months will get the LG G5 into your hands. That's a total of $576 over the life of the contract — a good bit cheaper than the $688 outright price that AT&T has listed.

In addition, Sprint's got the LG 360 CAM — that's the 360-degree camera "friend" that shares the same ecosystem as the LG G5 — listed at $199.

 

[Poke]

Sprint kicks off Marshmallow rollout for the Galaxy Note 5 [Update: Note 4 too]

http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-rolling-out-marshmallow-galaxy-note-5

Sprint has kicked off the Marshmallow rollout for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. While this update bumps the phablet up to Android 6.0, we're also looking at a new version of TouchWiz and more. It's quite the changelog so if you're unprepared for Marshmallow, be ready for a revamped experience on your Note.

Update: We've been made aware of the same update hitting the Galaxy Note 4. Hit us up in the comments if you've also received the update.