I got an email, also seen here, from Telecom Careers telling me that Mobilitie is looking for several positions! I have them listed below but could this mean that perhaps the Sprint Densification plan is going to move ahead? I hope so. I mean look at the jobs listed below. I got this right from the email. Send those applications in people!
Explore over 40 opportunities at Mobilitie here and here
I smell a deployment about to happen! What do you think? I hope this means more work for the deployment teams everywhere. I don’t know what it will be like to work with Mobilitie but it can’t be any worse that dealing with Sprint, right?
Remember that it all starts with site acquisition and RF design. Then you move into low-level design and site design. It doesn’t take long to get things rolling but there are always delays.
I am hoping that by looking at this hiring schedule that Sprint may finally be ramping up to move ahead with the densification project as well as the 2.5GHz expansion.
Tower Safety for all your safety training!
Now, I am not saying things are all peaches and cream at Sprint, for instance, the layoffs are already starting even though the bulk will hit in January, article here, where an 11% reduction in the workforce. According to the article there are about 31,000 people work there today. So over 3,300 people will be leaving. Now all of this comes after Marcelo Claure announced that he would be promoting a few people to regional presidents.
One more thing, Sprint will no longer sponsor NASCAR, that is over and done with. So Sprint will survive for another year.
Another question that lingers, should Comcast take over Sprint or T-Mobile? Why not, it makes sense. Even though Comcast has a deal with Verizon Wireless to sell carrier services, then maybe they would jump in with both feet. They have the money and they have motivation. It would help them put AT&T in its place by competing on the TV delivery and in wireless. Comcast said they were going to move into the wireless market and run trials with Verizon.
Now, let’s get back to the Sprint deployment. I still believe nothing will happen until mid-2016 and that will probably just be the densification project. I don’t’ know when the 2.5GHz expansion will take place but maybe not until 2017. Sprint just can’t seem to handle the expenses right now. I hope that the deployment is good for the deployment teams, but anyone that has dealt with Sprint knows that they will try to get as much as they can for as little as they can. So beware of losing money on the venture. Remember that deployment should be win-win, not “win then suck the life out of my deployment teams leaving them broke”. Let’s be fair, to do this work at a loss means that you should not do the work at all! Don’t underbid unless you are prepared to lose money.
Why do I bring up the bidding? Because in a Light Reading article, found here, they mention how Sprint/SoftBank is going to do small cells differently. They already awarded the hardware to Nokia and Airspan, which most of you know about, and Ericsson may get a chuck. They passed over the small cell leader, Alcatel-Lucent, maybe because Nokia is about to swallow them up or they wanted cheaper small cells. The real reason is mainly because the backhaul had to be something easy and cheap. They don’t want to pay for fiber unless absolutely necessary, enter Airspan. A smaller player and yet one that has a complete solution and is probably able to undercut the big boys to gain a small percentage of the market share. Can’t blame them unless they lose money, then it all looks stupid.
Now the other player for indoor, from what Dan Jones of Light Reading says, looks to be a player for indoor. This should make CommScope very happy since the own Airvana.
Remember that this is Sprint, and they may change everything and that they put out so many RFPs in the last year that your head would spin if you had to keep up with all of them. I admire the people working at Sprint for burning through the cycles and I hope those loyal people get to keep their jobs after the massive layoff that Sprint has planned. I know that many of them worked through holidays just to make sure that Sprint would have the pricing. By the way, if you ever have worked through the RFP process with Sprint then you will see that it is not easy and it usually is about price, my observation and opinion.
When will they deploy the small cells? Who knows, I hope the mini macro happens soon, but the reality is that they won’t be ready until mid 2016 from what I am seeing. Maybe they will surprise me by deploying sooner, but I doubt it. If anything they may push it out to 2017.
Sign up for my newsletter and tell me what you think!
Learn about QRedentials
QR Reader –>
Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you!What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?
If anyone is following the battle for #3 you see that T-Mobile got the position. Can they hold it? Who is going to make the long-term difference? Let me tell you what I see from a deployment stance.
Don’t get me wrong, the marketing plays a big part. I think that Marcelo Claure of Sprint and John Legere of T-Mobile are geniuses at marketing, although I think Legere has the edge. They both see to be able to build marketing programs that reach out to the smartphone user. The difference I see is that Sprint’s message is “we are cheap and will give you a cheap plan” versus T-Mobile who says “We have a reasonable plan with free video and our LTE coverage is great”. I think we all see the difference but in the end the customer wants a working system for a reasonable price.
Business wise T-Mobile seems stronger at this moment in time. T-Mobile wins here if we just look at the stock price, When I wrote this, Sunday December 6, 2015, T-Mobile came in at $35.45 versus Sprint at $3.53. It is obvious that we hear about all the problems at Sprint and all the cool stuff T-Mobile is doing that T-Mobile is moving up while Sprint seems to be standing still. Some would say Sprint is moving backwards, which, in this industry is what happens when you stand still. Let’s move on shall we?
T-Mobile on the other hand is aggressively building out with an impressive steady build plan that will improve their densification in major population areas. I am really impressed by what they are doing and the move to VoLTE. WOW! This is impressive to me and it shows that T-Mobile is not only committed to changing the industry by becoming the anti-carrier and plans but they are really improving their network. They seem to be boosting the network by leaps and bounds.
So when I look at the 2 competitors I see T-Mobile actually making a real difference in the network and growth. Meanwhile Sprint seems to be falling farther and farther behind. I know that we all expect them to do something big in 2016, but will it be enough or will it be too little too late. I will give Sprint and Softbank for the most creative financing. That deal they pulled off to get $1.1B of cash was amazing. WOW! Then they will be cutting out $2.5B of costs by cutting the workforce, meaning huge layoffs. Then they have to deploy the network they promised in their densification plan. Then they will have Mobilitie finance most of it for them. So will Sprint become a shell where the network is owned by Mobilitie and the devices will be owned by Mobile Leasing Solutions. So Sprint is finding a way to deploy a network and sell devices with little financial outlay. Let’s hope they can stay afloat long enough to make it happen.
T-Mobile on the other hand has been making investments that really look great from a system perspective. They have all the marketing savvy but they have the network to back it up. The video offering they have now is really impressive and the fact they have the vision to go complete LTE, for data and voice, is amazing. The way they offered VoWiFi before any other carrier did was awesome. They are pushing all the other carriers into a position they weren’t ready for yet. They seem to have an impressive vision for their future.
The funny thing is that Sprint has all the 2.5GHz spectrum that any other carrier would love to have, but they are moving so slowly because they apparently don’t’ have the money to do anything with it. They have a plan to densify, but they have been putting all of their vendors through the ringer and trying to cut the prices down to the point where most deployment teams wont’ want to work with them. I know that I have talked to many people who have participated in several RFPs that it is hard to take Sprint seriously any more. They have personally made so many vendors back down and say “don’t call us until you’re serious”. Do you remember when the rumor was that they were going to deploy over 70,000 small cells, then it was mini macros, for the densification program. What has been done since then? Not much. They seem to be slowly adding 2.5GHz to the towers, which really is an extension of the Network Vision plan. Sprint has such potential but they can’t seem to get out of their own way. All the money seems to be going somewhere, but where? I mean, I don’t see it going into the network, do you? They are cutting an already overworked workforce. They just don’t seem to be a company that the vendors I have talked to really want to work with anymore. The best thing they could do it allow the vendors to deploy the small cells and DAS systems for them. “Free the Indoor Small Cells”. They could allow them to deploy the system for them. It would just take building a process then they could get out-of-the-way, just wishful thinking on my part.
From what I see, T-Mobile is making all the right moves to win this war. I think that they are positioning themselves to push AT&T and Verizon. They might not win on coverage but they can give them a run for their money. While coverage is an issue, they have a good overall plan and they are sending a consistent message. Meanwhile, Sprint seems to be sending a message that they are the cheap guy and the margins are bleeding for it. But hey, what do I know, I just want to see all the deployment teams busy again.
I am reading “Lessons in Life and Business” by Elon Musk and he has a quote that I think would apply here. “Focus on signal over noise. A lot of companies get confused. They spend money on things that don’t actually make the product better.”
Deploy, deploy, deploy!
Sign up for my newsletter and tell me what you think!
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!
Learn about QRedentials
QR Reader –>
Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you!What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?
That’s right, with the RFP coming out in December, probably on 12/31/2015. We are all anticipating the release. For so many reasons. Who will bid on it? Who will risk it? Who will take a chance on building the nationwide LTE system for public safety? Is it real or did the government just waste tens of millions of dollars? I built a hypothetical list just for you. We talk about this all the time, especially at work because of the $6.5B, yes, billion dollars that is up for grabs. I know, they had $7B, but honestly, how much will trickle through the government before the contractors and OEMs see any of it?
Well, I hope it is real because it is a lot of work. What’s that, how did they waste all that money? Well, first, FirstNet spent a ton of money putting together their group and going through several people to get the stability it needed. Remember this; government can’t just go and build with investor money. You have to play nice with all the government agencies that want favors in return. Remember that everyone has a kingdom to protect. One thing they should know is that this would bring a lot of work to every state and every industry.
Let’s not just look at the federal money spent, the states spent a crap ton of hours preparing for this and trying to figure to build a case to opt out. I don’t think any of them will but they spent the cycles trying to build a case to get out of it. Why? That’s their job, to weigh both sides so they can make an educated decision.
As for spending so far, look at the road shows , the testing, the labs, the promotional work, the states hiring consultants (which does not come out of the federal money but your state taxes), the congress and senate burning time on this, the companies that are preparing to respond. All this is money and time spent for something that we all hope will happen.
Sorry, that is off the point, let’s get back to the bidding contenders. Who can take this on? Who is interested? Well, I have built a hypothetical list of groups that I know of. Now understand that some people don’t want to bid on it. I built this list because we have been talking about this all week with the RFP coming up.
OEMs – like Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia and Ericsson. Honestly, it’s too big and I don’t think they can do what FirstNet wants. The draft RFP made it clear that FirstNet wants to partner with a carrier for roaming purposes. It will also be more of a build, operate, maintain, and handoff model which the OEMs don’t want to deal with. Think about it, would you want to finance a network like this just to sell equipment? That’s what Sprint is looking for, how is that working out?
Rivada – they seem to think that they can build a relationship with the carriers to use the FirstNet spectrum. They have a plan to let the carriers bid on the spectrum to generate revenue. Cool idea in concept, I wish them the best.
General Dynamics – They want to and they are big enough to do it. But, can they fit the model? Can they manage this without getting a black eye? Can they work a deal for roaming?
Motorola – Will their deal with Ericsson make them a contender? Did LA-RICS give them a black eye or show they got experience? Motorola used to be a power house in public safety, in fact, they were the team to beat in wireless communications at one time. That’s right, they did everything from car radios to satellite to paging to cell systems to cell phones to Nextel. They were the team to beat in public safety. You could not walk into a site without seeing the batwings exposed on equipment. If you don’t know what I mean, then you are too young to understand. By the way, do you still see the Motorola Logo in sites? Of course, but not like you did 20 years ago, you know I’m right! They also did networking equipment in the days of framed relay and modems, (if you’re asking what that is, use Google to look it up, again, I am in my 50s, get over it). The flaw I see here is that Motorola did not learn from the carriers by partnering with one OEM, how stupid? All the carriers knew better. They know that you need 2 or 3 OEMs to play it safe and keep innovation alive and make it competitive. I say that they made an obvious mistake right up front, in my opinion.
IBM – Why not? They are big enough and I would say they could do as well as Motorola. They would build processes to handle all of this and they could make it happen and they could build the relationships with the carriers as well as anyone on this list.
Black & Veatch – I believe they could do it but would they want to when they could just as easily do regional work for any of the above? They are positioned well for the deployment, but FirstNet wants so much more than to deploy a network, too much for Black and Veatch to want to deal with. I think they know what they are good at, managing deployments, they don’t want to get in over their head with the operate and maintain.
Others – Who else could do this? I am sure there are plenty that when they look at it they think they could, just like the little engine going up the mountain, “I think I can, I think I can” but when they read the RFP, they will see it’s so much more than deploy, it deploy, operate, maintain, provide immediate coverage. That’s a huge plate to fill for any one company especially when FirstNet wants a SPOC, (single point of contact).
What about carriers? Here is the target audience for what they are looking for. Voila! You have the target integrator for FirstNet because you have an instant carrier. This is what FirstNet wants, at this moment in time. This is what I see as the master plan. The RFP will have all the requirements to build a system on top of a system using that valuable spectrum. Too bad the carriers are having 2 auctions prior to the actual deployment. You see they now have spectrum. Let’s list them out one by one.
Verizon – this is the target but does Verizon want to do this? It doesn’t appear so. They already make a ton of money off government phone contracts and they have a government division. They seem to have a pretty solid and profitable business. Do they want to do this for some spectrum that they may or may not be able to use? Ask them, I believe that they know if the system has an issue or if the relationship sours they will lose more in the long run with public image and future government contracts.
AT&T – Here is a contender that may sign up because they love more spectrum, they need more spectrum, and they appear to be interested. They could do it but could they meet the land mass coverage that is required of FirstNet? I don’t think they could and I don’t think that they want to, but if they sign up they will be required to. Is it worth it?
Sprint – Seriously, Sprint, don’t they have to get going with the densification project after cutting over $2B from their budget? They don’t want to deal with anything like this right now.
T-Mobile – They won’t want to cover all that FirstNet has and chances are good they don’t want to deal with it. It is a large offer. Too large for them to really take seriously at this time. They certainly don’t want to cover all the landmass that will be required.
CCA members – They probably can’t cover the land mass without T-Mobile and/or Sprint, too bad. I think that this group would be awesome at this,. Seriously, if they could step up and take this on. I know that CCA probably couldn’t manage this on their own, they would need help, but I have a list above of plenty of system integrators that would be happy to help.
T-Mobile with all the members of CCA – Awesome! I would love to see this happen because CCA could cover most of what T-Mobile can’t, and these teams could do it! I also believe that the spectrum would be very valuable to the CCA members. Seriously, they could use it since they don’t get many breaks on bidding with the FCC. Deep pockets generally win. T-Mobile, again, won’t want to deal with this but if CCA could build a team then T-Mobile could step back and concentrate on the network whilst CCA manages the build and integration while T-Mobile could operate and maintain. All that for some extra spectrum and $6B. Suddenly this team would make a play for #2 with coverage if they looked like one system. Hey, just my thoughts here.
AT&T with CCA Members – Here is an ideal situation, again, in my opinion. AT&T already has interest and they have the network and the experience. CCA could fill the holes. They could cover the landmass that AT&T can’t or doesn’t want to. What a concept. Could AT&T and CCA work together, who knows! I would like to see it but it probably won’t happen. I think this is what should happen since it could really change the landscape of the industry. One more thing, it would really put Verizon in a tough spot because these 2 together would over shadow Verizon’s network. T-Mobile, being a member of CCA, probably would not let this happen. Sprint is also a member of CCA, but they have their own problems to deal with, they might protest but I don’t think that they would get in the way.
Did I miss anyone? Let me know below the links. I just think we need to see that FirstNet really limited their options by asking for a single company to deploy. That’s what happens with you only want to deal with the SPOC. They will soon realize how hard that can be, to only get information from one person. If you’re like me and every other analyst I know, you will soon realize to listen to many sources before making a decision. Even then you can be wrong, but you have done your due diligence.
There is one option I didn’t mention. The states could build it. If this went back to the states, what would happen? I think we can tell the active states would kick ass. I mean the big boys like Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and many more. They want to move ahead and move now. I believe they don’t want to wait. They seem to have an exact idea of how to deploy. Unfortunately they don’t see any good way to opt out, it could lead to disaster. They also are hoping to use their backhaul assets for the system, but if the carriers are used, that probably won’t happen.
By the way, I am looking forward to getting a ton of small cell and DAS work from this in about 3 years, seriously, there is a lot of work coming if this happens. Oh, there I said it again, the big “IF” word again. I really hope it happens soon.
I like you all to know that I just don’t make this up. I actually read a lot of articles. I have a list of my sources for you. That is why there are so many links in these posts.
Sign up for my newsletter and tell me what you think!
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!
Learn about QRedentials
QR Reader –>
Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you!What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?
Attention carriers, free the indoor LTE indoor small cells so that they can be deployed with iDAS! This is specifically for the enterprise and building coverage, since you already freed the small femto cells. You are the ones holding the industry back, not the other way around. You say you don’t want to pay for iDAS, but how can anyone else when you control the small cell? Small Cells can be deployed for home office, let’s free them up for the enterprise! Why? Let me tell you why.
The carriers say they don’t want to pay for indoor DAS but indoor small cells are part of that system, aren’t they? The carriers control the release of larger small cells, well any eNodeB for that matter. The VARs, (Value Added Resellers) want to sell and install these systems for large enterprise but they need to work through the carriers, maybe even to purchase the equipment from the carriers. If carriers want to save on these costs, then set up a system to approve the small cells and low power BTS for DAS systems so you can hand it off to someone who can sell it to the building or business owner. Again, I mean that the indoor small cells are so controlled by the carriers that they can’t be deployed by anyone else. It’s like a small cell hell!
Let’s build a better model like the femto cell, for instance, homes and small offices are able to have anyone install the femto cell. Let me explain this model. You may have heard that T-Mobile is handing the CellSpot femto cell out to customers for free. This will help build a coverage model similar to what Comcast did with Xfinity Wi-Fi, hand out hotspots, (Cable modem or femto cell), and put your default ESSID on a Wi-Fi hotspot and then all of you customers can use it. It is a complete plug and play device, one that most carriers offer home users at some point, even with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi calling may change this, but T-Mobile made it sexy and smart. They get expanded coverage for the price of a box and shipping.
I believe that SpiderCloud is building this model for their small cells. They know that the carrier does not want to deploy indoor small cells everywhere, but the carriers have to build a better process. So why not do this for all businesses that want iDAS and indoor small cells? Let a contractor handle it! An approved contractor (of course) installing an approved unit.
As for carriers, I believe that T-Mobile is handing out the femto cells, but not anything larger. I think AT&T was going to set up something that would have them hand them, (sell them) to end users that wanted to install them. I didn’t hear of anything like this from Verizon. I know that the technology is catching up but I think that if they would allow the approved contractor to buy them, preferable from the OEM to save money unless the carrier would be able to get them really cheap, the contractor could do the rest. Building out the network for the carrier.
How should carriers do it? Build a process where the vendor gets certified by the OEM and the carrier. Then the carriers will vette the vendor for being a real business and take a look at their safety programs. Then let the vendor sell to the enterprise and landlords! It’s that simple carriers, get out-of-the-way. Don’t worry about the vendor making you look bad because I know you can set up a feedback system so that the end customer can grade the vendor. Help them improve or boot them out. Build the process today.
Now, on the network and equipment side, you need to do several things. You need 1) Plug and Play, 2) an auto-config neighbor list, 3) power control, 4) get certified VARs to call the integration center, and 5) monitor PCMD data. Then you can let the VAR build your system and improve your coverage! Am I making any sense yet?
Readers, I know that many of you are blaming the OEM, right? But the reality is that the carriers have a firm grip on the small cell since it connects to the network.
Free the small cells to the vendors and let the network grow organically. Increase the pipe with little or no expense! Put the growth on auto pilot for heaven’s sake!
In case you wonder why carriers control deployments, look at the reasons below:
Approvals: The OEM has a lot of work with the carrier prior to even being allowed on the network. You see, to get on the carrier’s network you need to put all small cells through lab tests, minimum 3 months, to make sure they are certified and won’t take down a site, cluster or harm the network. Anyone who is working on the OEM side of small cells understands that this takes a lot of time, energy, money, and lab support. It doesn’t happen overnight, in fact, if it happens in 3 months you’re doing incredibly well.
Integration: Another thing is the current commissioning and integration of a cell onto the network. It usually needs to be planned. It is still not automated except small femto cells used for home and SOHO, (Small Office Home Office). The reason being is the core. You have several locations that the cell could connect with, and it may be different for each region. There is not an easy way for it to locate the core that it should be talking to. So they either preconfigure the cell or they do it on site. This seems to be tedious but in my opinion, the process should be automated.
Optimization: Finally, the ever so important neighbor list. This is the list of neighboring sites that the cell could interfere with and hand off. They want a clean handoff, no drops. Also, you don’t want self interference; you want a good cluster frequency plan. Don’t forget the power setting has to be just right. All key factors in the optimization phase of deployment. An optimized network is a happy network. Happy networks mean happy customers.
Maybe Wi-Fi and LTE-U calling will change this. With the license free options you can already get internet access and make a voice call over Wi-Fi. Comcast has a serious Wi-Fi network that people could use If only Comcast would create a better core for voice, VOIP, or VoWi-Fi, so that they can complete voice calls. It looks like they are working towards this from what I have read, but who knows. They recently announced the deal with Verizon so maybe they will move ahead with a real heterogeneous network.
Q with A&A – (Questions with actions and answers)
Q) Are small cells plug and play? A&A – They should be! Femto cells usually are, so all indoor cells should be, get on that today! Tell the OEMs that it is a requirement.
Q) Do I have to preconfigure the cell ahead of time? A&A – Get the OEM or a vendor to set up a system where it will be ready to be put on the network. It could be through your office or the OEM or let the VAR do it! One of them could load a configuration file so that when the installer gets it all they need to do is power up and connect to the internet or some type of backhaul.
Q) What if it interferes with a neighbor? A&A – Monitor the site when it goes in and catch the PCMD data from the units in the building to update the cell. This is work, but chances are you’re already doing this or you have a SON server doing this. This should be automated.
Q) What if power needs adjusted? A&A – See above, monitor, adjust, done.
Q) What if the carrier feels they need to install the small cell? Action – Don’t do it! The OEMs are already training people so just verify certifications. Get out-of-the-way!
Q) Who will configure the radio? A&A – Build basic configuration files. Could be the VAR or it could come preconfigured.
Q) Who will certify the installers? A&A – Let the OEMs manage the certifications! They are doing it today. Carriers need to verify that the VAR is certified to commission the small cell. Again, they need to be trained by the OEM. There should be a certification for installation and commissioning.
Q) Do carriers have to stock the small cells and spend the extra expense tracking and shipping? A&A – Don’t do any of it except create the process! Let a warehouse, distributor, OEM, or the VAR do it. If you want complete control then manage and warehouse everything, but the reality is that you should work a deal with a distributor, VAR, or OEM to stock them, prep them, and install them. All the VAR should need to do is call you to verify configuration and date of install. Let each group do what they are good at.
Q) What if it’s a large iDAS system? A&A – Don’t get involved unless it’s a high-profile venue! Let someone else do all the work. They should be buying all the equipment to make your coverage better.
Q) What will the cost to the carrier be? A&A – Let the VAR’s buy direct. If you do this right you should only pay someone, a PM, to manage the process. The business, building or venue owner will pay for the installation and the small cell just like you want them to do for DAS. You need to define the process and approve the vendors. Get out of your own way!
Q) Where will we find these VARs? A&A – They will come to you if you have a contact or group they can talk to! Seriously, this business will boom because a ton of companies want to do small cells and iDAS, just make someone available to them. Set up the process to get contractors approved. Get the contractor vetted and move on to the next one. Seriously, why make more work for yourself? If they screw it up, then deal with it or throw them out of your system.
Q) What if the enterprise or venue calls the carrier? A&A – refer them to the nearest 1 or 5 VARs. Build a database of VARs by region. Let the customer run the RFP or bidding process. Let the VAR fight for the work.
Q) How do we let the VAR know what band to install? A&A – Create a process where they can either access a website or let them call the regional team for information. I like the website because it is automated with little human interaction.
I would recommend having the carriers approve indoor small cells and then letting VARs deploy them as part of the iDAS and indoor small cell systems. For indoors, the carriers don’t want to pay for the installation unless they have a large payback but a VAR will do it for the cost of the installation. Hopefully the business will pay for.
The carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint need to go to the next level for indoor deployments. In this case I would recommend letting the VAR do the installation for enterprise and for business. Let the VAR work with the end-user for installation of the indoor small cell just like they would the iDAS systems. Honestly, what are they waiting for? They just need to approve it for their system then the PnP, plug and play, should do the rest. Make the investment in a decent SON system and then hand it off to the VARs! Let them sell it to the businesses and enterprises! Let them improve coverage at the request of the end use, not at the carrier’s cost. Get out of your own way! Don’t forget to automate the system!
I think that this is what the carriers want. They can control their end of it with the testing, the labs, and the approvals. They can then hand it off to the VAR to sell it and install it to improve coverage. Just like everyone wants to do with Wi-Fi. Comcast figured it out. T-Mobile is giving the femto cells to the end-user. Let’s create a system that works with this business model.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve. If you don’t have a clean way to do this now then get busy! You should have done this already! Automate, integrate, and then grow!
Carriers say they don’t want t pay for iDAS, what about indoor small cells. Here is an opportunity to let go.
If you are a vendor, a VAR, an installer, here is a golden opportunity for you to get in on a booming market. Coverage is the name of the game! Maybe LTE-U will take off, I know that Verizon has plans to deploy in 2016, or so they say, but wait and see.
Sign up for my newsletter and tell me what you think!
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!
Learn about QRedentials
QR Reader –>
Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you!What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?
What a scare the Sprint employees got! They found out that after working so hard for this company that has been in turmoil for years that they will probably get laid off in January with a lesser severance than expected. Hey, in all honesty it’s better than most tower workers get when they are laid off, they’re lucky to get a ride home! Tower workers usually get nothing, a big empty goose egg! When I was laid off and I got stiffed on expense money, so I left in the hole!
Here’s the rub, Sprint is setting a precedent by announcing that they will be reducing the severance pay for employees that they are going to lay off in January, that’s right, all those hard-working Sprint people are getting screwed over. Hey, I know a few people that work for Sprint and they put in long hours with little gratitude from the higher-ups. At least the ones I know work really hard, they get paid for 40 hours when they really work 60 or more hours, yes, most of them are salary. Sprint made the announcement that when they lay off the people that (worked 60 hours a week for 40 hours pay) were not only going to be let go, but the severance package they expected is going to get knocked down to a week’s pay for each year worked there. That still isn’t bad but it’s half of what they were going to get. Can you believe it? It amazes me that now the solution is to screw the laid off workers out of a decent severance. Click here to read the story. They will get a reduced severance and a good kick in the ass as they are pushed out of the door because previous management could not control spending.
Hey, this Sprint layoff news may not be all bad, remember that Sprint will probably be very shorthanded. So if you are a contractor, I would say it is a good thing. They will need support and they probably want to hire contractors. They may pay a higher hourly rate but they will be able to hire and fire easily and not more benefits. So this is an opportunity for those of you that have a service that Sprint may need, like PM, RF Engineer, or network engineer.
I also see them needing RAN work done when they eventually expand, right? I don’t think that Mr Claure will be going up a tower anytime soon, do you? If he does, I hope I am there to race him to the top, with 100% tie off of course.
What worries me now is that this sets a precedent for all the companies in the future to bully their employees when they downsize. Hey, losing your job sucks, but having them tell you they didn’t appreciate having you there hurts even more! I guess the new CFO, Tarek Robbiati has a better severance planned for when he leaves. Let’s blame him and Marcelo Claure, just because they are the leaders, makes it easy to see who made the decisions here, right? Money first, people last, and the system falls somewhere in between.
My hope here is that Softbank can turn Sprint around. The shareholders are happy to see Sprint cut over $2B out of the budget, way to go! I just thought that laying the people off was enough, I didn’t think that cutting the severance was good PR, but as long as the shareholders are happy, who cares, right? Let’s hope that Sprint can stay out of bankruptcy! I would hate to see that happen for so many reasons!
For all of you Sprint employees about to lose your jobs, my heart goes out to all of you. Its tough being out of work, there is never a good time. There is never enough money in savings. I pray that all of you can find work very soon. I wish you would have a reasonable severance package, so sorry.
For all of you employees at other carriers, look out. The way I see it, Sprint is setting a precedent. Executive pay is first, then profits, then the system, and then maybe the employees. I have to tell you, it seems that the other carriers are taking care of their employees, but then again, they are growing.
I will continue to root for Sprint as a carrier to grow and improve. If they see growth maybe they will hire again. Maybe they will be innovative with the densification project. I guess we shall see.
Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you!What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?
I have been looking at Sprint and working with them is very hard. They originally said they wanted to lower the number of vendors, which makes sense because they have to manage each one. However now they seem to be working with more companies than ever. I am not sure what they plan to do. Softbank is calling the shots now. So what they are doing in Japan they will do here in the US, that’s the reality. All the companies they work with there will have a great advantage over here.
I was readingRCR magazineandFiercewirelessand then I read the Sprint Blog put out by Dr. Sawand they keep talking about the deployment and what they plan to do. All I can say is crap or get off the pot! Let’s get moving already! For crying out loud we have been hearing about this and seeing the RFPs for the last year, and yet I don’t see any movement that wasn’t already planned in 2013. I assume they are looking around for the best price but I would think they would want to start showing progress at some point. They have 120MHz of the 2.5GHz band, band 41, that anyone would be happy to have, but let’s go! Get moving! We have hundreds of crews looking for work and they want to make sure that they are keepingbusy. I am glad that the Macro deployment is moving, slowly, but it is moving. I can’t believe the shareholders don’t notice this. Bandwidth is valuable and they are not deploying it to the best of their abilities. They seem to talk about it all the time but they still are just talking. That like talking about your new work truck while it sits in the garage and does nothing. Let’s get to work and build a great network! Let’s see if Softbank is as smart as they say they are!
I believe that Softbank is doing all that they can to make sure that the project takes off in an organized fashion. However, from the outside in it can look like paralysis by analysis. If Softbank did this before they should already have a plan, they just need to get the right contractors.
It looks like they will move ahead soon. I want to congratulate Airspanand Nokiafor the win of the small cell & mini macro deployment for Sprint. Way to go! I wish you the best and think that the solution will be impressive and groundbreaking here in the USA. Also, Mobilitiegot a big part of the offer and should be very happy with managing the offer. I believe they are also helping with the financing of the network. FYI – important note! Mobilitie is hiring!
Whatever they build out they will need to make sure that they have a plan in place to optimize the network. That is the key to making sure it performs. They also need to understand that voice is still a key part of the network. Do they have a good migration path for VoLTE or will they just worry about data? I hear about all of that spectrum but they need to make sure they have a plan in place to offer a voice solution as well. Some of us still make phone calls on our mobile phones.
I really like the fact they plan to use small cells to the maximum efficiency they can. I hope it is a success. If they can move up in quality in some urban areas then they have a real shot at growth. Don’t get me wrong, I may criticize Sprint but I am hoping that they can improve. That will push all the carriers to improve. Their coverage will need to improve not only outdoors, but indoors as well. Remember that a majority of urban calls are made in the buildings.
This is a quick overview on the 2 earnings calls, T-Mobile and Sprint, and how they may affect the field for design, installation, integration, commissioning, and optimizations. Yes, those 2 hours of my life I will never see again but I wanted to share them with you. I have much more commentary in the podcast, so if you’re interested make sure you listen!
So, first the T-Mobile call.Earnings call here. I have to tell you that I really enjoy listening to Legere, he is just a cool guy. He is fun and he not only answers the questions to the press but also to Twitter, which was really cool his call was loose and fun. So they basically said that they plan to continue the rollout at the pace they are going. I take this to mean that he will continue to build out the LTE system as needed, concentrating on the larger urban markets and working their way down. He also mentioned that the Voice of Wi-Fi will be pushed but they need other carriers to catch up. So, LTE and VoLTE is a priority, VoWiFi as a priority. For deployment teams, including installation, commissioning, design, integration, and optimization teams, this will continue.
Sprint? Earnings call here. They are a very uptight bunch, that call had so much tension on it. I admire Claure but come on, lighten up a little. Softbank’s Son was there and he seems like a very smart guy. I hope he can make things happen in the US like he apparently did in Japan. That guy thinks all of the networks stink in the US, and he admitted that Sprint did not have a good network, it stinks too! So I guess he intends to make the densification project a success no matter what. So here is how I interpret that for deployment, commissioning, installation, integration, design, and optimization. I expect them to go balls to the wall in 2016 to make this happen. Will they pay top dollar, hell no, but this will be all new sites along with the upgrade of the Macro sites, that is what I heard. So get ready, they expect to build out big time, but not macro. They expect to use mini macro and small cell. This is going to be s blast for deployment but not for the existing OEMs in the USA. I think that they are going to use people they trust. When I say they, I mean Softbank, let’s face it, Softbank is going to run the company. So the success or failure will ride with Mr. SON. He will be the one to take the glory or the blame. I would imagine he will work with vendors that they trusted in Japan to offer a reasonable price and results. So get out-of-the-way! Make room for Softbank USA! Let’s get busy and build! Just keep it simple, when you did network vision it was too complicated! This was Sprint’s fault! They have no one to blame but themselves, even though now they point fingers, that’s all history, let’s move ahead!
History – let me tell you how in the beginning Sprint had all the cool feature, and they had Nextel. Well, now Nextel is gone, along with the subs they had with Nextel. They also are on a level playing field with the rest of the carriers, and they dropped to #4. They desperately need leadership! I think that Mr. Son will provide that. My opinion!
So lessons learned? KISS – keep it simple stupid! Keep the build and network as simple as possible for the deployment. T-Mobile figured it out! They learned quick after UMTS problems. Keeping it simple makes it profitable. That is the secret. When you penny pinch and do all that you can not to pay the people who are installing and commissioning and integrating, you have problems. Just deploy, test, and pay your vendors. That way everyone is happy.
Dan Hesse regrets all the outages that he had with the NV cut over. Let me tell you, they made things so much more complicated and caused more problems than they needed to. I know for a fact they wanted it their way, so how did that work out? If they would have done a clean overlay roll out it would have worked so much better, it may have looked like it cost more in the beginning, but in the long run it would have been so much more profitable. Just because you think it’s cheap, doesn’t mean it’s profitable. Well, was it worth losing all those subs? Was it? I don’t think so but I am a fan of a clean and organized roll out.http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/former-sprint-ceo-hesse-unexpected-disruption-network-vision-was-very-painf/2015-08-05?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!
I am putting a small cell wireless deployment handbook together, it should be out soon.
Feel free to sign up for my newsletter below while telling me what you think.
