Sprint is in bad shape – it is either the network itself or their reputation…probably a little of both. Dan Hesse, former CEO, held the reins for six long years and not much changed – progress was so slow, it looked like nothing was happening. When Japan’s Softbank purchased Sprint about a year ago, we were hopeful that big things would happen, as they are known in Japan as a fierce competitor…but again not much changed. Softbank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, and Dan Hesse were too different in business philosophy and just did not work well together. Exit Dan and enter Marcelo Claure, a friend of Son’s and they both have the same philosophy – now we are beginning to see some aggressive moves in an attempt to turn things around.
The carrier realizes that the most popular type of plan is the family plan…or framily, as Sprint calls it. Sprint went about designing their new plans with DOUBLE the data bucket of other plans from Verizon and AT&T. Analysts do not believe it does enough to make a real difference in Sprint’s future or fortunes – there is also concern about the amount of data Sprint is willing to give on their plans and if their network can support it. Owens, Sprint’s senior vice president of product development, “We were very thoughtful about, as you look at our spectrum position, we believe that our spectrum position allows us to take a more aggressive stance in offering more data.”
Sprints new plans are called the Family Share Pack and they will be available August 22 and are designed for price conscious consumers, but mostly families. They wanted to make sure that nobody will have to worry about going over in their data – realizing the parents might use less data, but the children are notorious data hogs. Owens said: “We wanted to have a great value for the consumer that gives them predictability in their billing and comfort that they are not going to go over their data bucket. The plans are targeted not just at smartphone users but are designed to encourage the adoption of tablets and other mobile data devices, as other shared plans are. The idea is the bulk of your population in the postpaid business are on family plans. For us to be successful we have got to be able to attract and actually switch families.” With their new CEO, continuing network upgrades and expansion, their competitive pricing and plans, what will dog Sprint the most will be their potential customer’s perception of the company. It is possible with Son and Claure at the helm some real progress can be made, but their ‘talk’ can only carry them so far – they will need to develop great coverage with dependable service if they will really expect a permanent turnaround. Please hook up with us on our Google+ Page and let us know how you feel about Sprint – are you a happy customer, disgruntled customer, former customer, or will never be a customer…as always, we would love to hear from you.