It seems a week doesn’t go by without news of a new proposed merger amongst the U.S. carriers, the latest of which has seen Sprint back away from such a move with T-Mobile that would have been unlikely to gain regulatory approval. Instead of trying to bolster their falling userbase by merging with a competitor, it looks like Spring is going to attempt to fix their problems by appointing a new CEO to replace the current CEO, Dan Hesse.
So, who is the new CEO and what do we know about him? His name is Marcelo Claure, he was born in Bolivia and graduated from Bentley College, Massachusett. He is the current Chairman and CEO of Brightstar, an international Wireless Distribution company with dealings in over 50 countries, as well as a Sprint board member(as of January 2014). Softbank, the company that bought Sprint, also acquired a majority controlling stake in Brightstar thanks to a $1.26 billion investment. Before Brightstar Marcelo Claure also owned USA Wireless for a period.
With Sprint’s userbase fleeing like rats from a sinking ship thanks to strong competition from its fellow national carriers AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, reviving Sprints fortunes is going to be a massive undertaking. And it gets even more difficult when you factor in Sprint’s ageing network, lagging behind its rivals in rolling-out the latest LTE technology. Some of the primary complaints regarding Sprints service include poor reception, dead zones that result in roaming charges, dropped calls and missed text messages. Most, or even all of which can be attributed to Sprints poor network coverage. Upgrading its infrastructure will require significant investment. And while Sprint get good reviews when it comes to customer service, with its Twitter team @sprintcare gaining praise for its quick response , it all counts for naught if you can’t actually use your phone for its intended purpose.
Does Marcelo Claure have the necessary experience and know-how to revive Sprint’s fortunes? Or have Sprint/Softbank left it too late to turn the ship around? Only time will tell. If you are with Sprint, what would you like to see from the soon-to-be-appointed CEO? Let us know in the comments below or at our Google Plus page.