Sprint to Risk $20 Billion on Apple iPhone
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Comments 50
Oct 3, 2011, 1:44 PM by Eric M. Zeman
According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Sprint has committed itself to purchase 30.5 million Apple iPhones over the next four years. Based on the current full retail cost of the iPhone, the agreement amounts to about $20 billion. The Journal's sources call the deal a "bet-the-company kind of thing" that will likely lose Sprint money ($1.5 billion in profits) until 2014. Sprint's board signed off on the deal believing that without it the company has no other way to compete with AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said in the past that the carrier's lack of growth in recent years can be attributed to its lack of the iPhone. The Journal's sources also indicated that they believe Sprint will offer the iPhone with unlimited data plans, contrary to what AT&T and Verizon do. Apple and Sprint did not confirm the Journal's story.
Not even the iPhone can save Sprint
lmao 🤣
hahaha i agree .. the end is near for the sprint and epic fail!!!! finally some good news! 😈
those sprint morons just don't get it!
how about spending that 20 billlions improving the networks instead?
people don't care how hot is your phone, if coverage sucks people will stay away!
JellzOct 3, 2011, 2:11 PM
Blame it on the iPhone...
The iPhone is a popular phone and is a major key to AT&T's recent success as #2 carrier in the US. But they're still #2. I think that competing without the iPhone is feasible and Sprint is making excuses for itself. When you compare Sprint to Verizon/AT&T, yes their plans are cheaper but not by too much. Yes they offer unlimited data, but do most people even need that (even if they want it)? Their network just isn't as good, and they sell it out to everyone and their mother. In the end, the price difference just doesn't justify the network difference. The smaller prepaid companies have crap coverage but are cheap enough that if someone isn't going to move around much and don't expect much from their phones, they can live with getting what th...
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If I remember correctly they surpassed Verizon back in January due to organic subscriber ads. Verizon only surpassed AT&T back in 2009 due to the Alltel aquisition.
AT&T has terrible satisfaction ratings according to consumer reports.
Sprint and Verizon were rated as the most satisfying carriers, followed by T-Mobile.
Combine this with the fact that Sprint has the cheapest plans except for T-Mobile and the...
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Not any more. This is according to Consumer Reports latest user polls. at&t may have a larger native footprint than Sprint, but their overall coverage (native + roaming) is vastly inferior. the 3% of the pops not covered live in mostly rural areas whe...
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Money would have been better invested into Sprint's Network!
Some people commenting here are on crack it seems. Sprint has the best network & network coverage? Are they high? Seriously folks, just make a one-stop trip to straighttalk.com and look at the coverage maps. Straight Talk resells service from all the bigs and you will notice that Sprint's network is dramatically inferior to Verizon's & AT&T's. Next stop for you would be Ebay where you can find a million ST Galaxy Precedent's for sale. These are from people who bought the CDMA smartphone thinking it would be on Verizon then found out it's on Sprint & decided to get rid of the phone because they abhor Sprint's network & coverage. Most people just returned the phone though to ST. I appreciate Sprint keeping data unlimited but seriously th...
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This company is ran like a 3rd world country! Sprint makes very foolish purchases! Remember the Nextel Purchase. How did that end up working out.. I agree Sprint needs something but it isnt the iphone..it need investor..IE Capitol. The company is over...
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w2nOct 4, 2011, 12:23 AM
Does this mean i can finally have 4G
i've been with Sprint for more than a decade and really couldn't care less about this device. i want to fully utilize my network connection for which i'm "paying a premium".
Sadly, the answer is probably no for the forseeable future. First, I doubt Apple will build a WiMax iPhone. More importantly, Clear's rollout has ground to a halt. Sprint's made some announcements that indicate a change in 4G direction, but that's ...
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The greatest risk is not ever taking one...
Sprint might lose out in the beginning but I'm sure they're seeing a positive bigger picture in this. They just have to continue to upgrade their network, roll out LTE finally & keep their unlimited plans intact without taxing us (the customer). Other than that, you take the risk now in hopes for a big reward later. (It's what business is all about) Good luck Sprint!
thank you , finally someone with a real vision