Ouch. Not only did Sprint make a lukewarm $64 million this quarter (versus $279 million last year), but they also withdrew their optimistic forecast for 2008.
WiMax is still on Sprint’s plate, but they were saying that in August, and didn’t do so hot that quarter either. Of course the customer service thing might be an issue, but straight-up competition from the likes of AT&T and Verizon can’t be ignored. Post-paid subscribers, who really help on the revenue front, declined by 337,000, and the report wasn’t shy to to say that 40% of those losses are from Nextel’s old coverage areas. Keep passing the buck there, guys. Pre-paid customer subscriptions went up, but churn rate for them is pretty high, which isn’t helping Sprint out much. As cute as Sprint’s ad campaigns have been, it’ll take more than that to get their numbers up again.
Tag: WiMAX
Sprint posts 77% drop in Q3 profits
Research papers not too long ago were calling for growth in mobile WiMAX, and between Sprint’s involvement in WiMAX and Vodafone’s recent membership in the WiMAX forum, it’s hard to argue. We’re still left to daydream about the possibilities for mobile devices other than laptops or ultra-mobile PCs, but the more mobile giants getting in on the WiMAX, the better the odds of BlackBerrys getting in on the action. Of course, we won’t be getting that signal for sure until RIM signs up.
Sprint’s second quarter report is now up, with some slightly underwhelming growth numbers, but they’ve still got plenty of subscribers. Maybe their WiMAX efforts will pay off, but some think that Sprint will have to seriously kick it up a notch to compete with AT&T and Verizon. Sprint’s added 400,000 subscribers this quarter, which doesn’t seem like much compared to the 1.5 and 1.6 million marks that the competitors are hitting. Regardless, Sprint’s still holding a 54 million user base – nothing to sneeze at.
For awhile, we pictured WiMAX as a kind of fixed broadband solution. You know, the kind of thing you set up when you live in the boonies and there’s no way in hell you’re going to get a solid line from civilization to your house. However, a recent report is saying that thanks to partnerships between companies such as Clearwire and Sprint, mobile WiMAX is becoming more and more popular in the US. The most immediate implications for mobile WiMAX would be for TV and entertainment, but will the technology ever wriggle its way into the voice and data applications that BlackBerry users hold so very dear? We’d really like to read more of this report to find out, but there’s a pretty hefty pricetag on it.
WTRS has issued a report that goes over the big players in converged mobile devices.
1) In spite of the plethora of emerging wireless standards, each has its own niche of dominance without much overlap or competition between them.
2) WiMAX has found a solid niche in the backhaul network.
3) HSPA is making strong progress in handsets and represents a highly competitive service offering for carriers.
4) Bluetooth has expanded the functionality of a handset with the incorporation of WiBree into the SIG. Products based on WiBree will almost certainly enter the market this year.
5) DLNA, with its convergence strategy, has developed a mechanism for providing interoperable consumer electronics and mobile communications devices using only existing networking standards. As a result DLNA compliance affords devices added functionality not available previously.
Continue reading ‘Convergence report says wireless standards don’t compete’
A recent study by CENTRIS has determined that nearly half of responding American internet users would use WiMAX for portable e-mail, including video and picture attachments. Obviously, other multimedia were of interest to users: 31% would use streaming online media, 28% would take advantage of mobile entertainment such as on-demand TV, and another 28% would use WiMAX for downloading music. WiMAX is kind of overkill if most consumers just want to check their e-mail, which really does put BlackBerry in a favourable light. Bigger pipes will expand the scope of e-mail, but the basic service is already nicely locked down by RIM. The second-biggest consumer concern about WiMAX was portability – it needs to go where you go, not the other way around.
Mobile WiMAX is making some headway in Europe, gaining ground on UMTS. The International Telecommunication Union has decided that OFDM-based technologies, such as WiMAX should be included in the ITU’s international IMT2000 standard. European countries such as Norway, Sweden, and the UK are touting the decision as a step towards fair play in the future of wireless technology.
“This is a good sign for technology neutrality becoming the accepted approach for spectrum auctions in the future,” says ABI Research analyst Ian Cox. “Mobile WiMAX products will start to appear in 2007 and can be used in unpaired spectrum, giving them an opportunity not available to UMTS.”
It’s good to see regulators realizing how huge WiMAX is going to be and paving the way for it to happen.
A recent report from Analysys is forecasting a drop in voice and data rates due to growing popularity in low-cost data packages, Skype, WiMAX and other “transparent data pipes” like Wi-Fi. All of those things sound great to us, but unless carriers can provide competitive plans, they’ll be severely undercut by these third-party service providers.
“There is increasing uncertainty over the future of the wireless industry, and it could evolve in radically different ways,” says co-author Dr Mark Heath. “Organisations need to generate robust plans to steer the industry in their preferred direction, and to ensure success regardless of how the market develops.”
The report outlines three possible scenarios: either low-cost data pipes, emerging markets thriving on accesible, low-cost services, or cellular going indoors thanks to Wi-Fi and the like. All three are happening to varying degrees now, but which emerges as the clear next step for the wireless industry remains to be seen. What do you guys think?
Perceptive readers of BlackBerry Cool will notice that we’ve been all aboard the WiMAX train lately, even though BlackBerry Wi-Fi is still very nascent. That’s why we’re excited by news coming from Parks Associates, who have forecasted that Mobile WiMAX will connect 8% of the world’s 1.1 billion mobile broadband subscribers in the year 2000… and 12. That’s about 88 million subscribers worldwide, for the folks keeping score at home. Parks Associates also reported that 52% of these subscribers will derive from Asia, with the Americas accounting for another 28%.
“Today, most existing WiMAX deployments are the province of aspiring start-up service providers or incumbent telecom carriers looking to fill coverage gaps,” said Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, Director of Broadband and Gaming, Parks Associates. “The imminent availability of commercial products and increasing availability of spectrum around the world will change the market for mobile WiMAX and make it viable among major service providers. Taiwan alone will have eight million mobile WiMAX subscribers by 2012.”
Continue reading ‘Mobile WiMAX to have 8% market share by 2012′
So long as we’re talking about WiMax, Sprint is going to be ramping up their WiMax network in the near future, Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh claiming ten times cost performance, which means they can build and maintain the network for hella cheap. Bottom line? Lower data rates for us end-users, or at least those of us rolling with Sprint. Also coming through the tubes is push to talk on Sprint. The carrier wasn’t doing so hot earlier, but between PTT, unlimited data and WiMax, Sprint’s definitely still in the game.
