On Call: Answers for your cell phone questions.
What you should know about the Sprint/Nextel merger |
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By Kent German  September 6, 2005 |
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Kent German, CNET's cell phone guru, wants to answer your questions about cell phones, services, and accessories. Send him a question!
The oddest of odd couples permanently joined forces last month when Sprint and Nextel completed their $36 billion merger. When the marriage was first announced last December, it astounded the wireless world. AT&T Wireless and Cingular had just completed their union, but the merger wasn't the issue--it was the players themselves that drew much of the attention. The AT&T and Cingular merger made sense; they operated on similar networks, offered some of the same handsets, and catered to a comparable customer base. However, Sprint and Nextel seem to have very little in common. For starters, they use incompatible technologies; Sprint uses CDMA, while Nextel operates over a proprietary network called iDEN. But that's not all: While Sprint attracts a broad range of customers, Nextel has long depended on a loyal base of businesspeople who love the carrier's pioneering push-to-talk (PTT) functionality and its corporate-friendly services. Plus, Nextel's bulky Motorola mobiles are a sharp contrast to Sprint's long line of stylish silver flip phones.
What are your thoughts about the merger?
Despite these differences, though, the two companies are now one. I definitely think Sprint's getting the most out of the deal (Nextel's spectrum holdings being a significant gain), but it may take some time to see exactly how this will affect customers. Of course, the company is giving the usual line of how the merger will benefit subscribers, but I always take such claims with a grain of salt. That said, if you are a Sprint Nextel customer, there are some changes you can expect both immediately and in a few years.
- The new company
Sprint Nextel Corporation is now the third-largest U.S. carrier after Cingular and Verizon Wireless, with around 40 million subscribers. Sprint will be the branding name for the majority of products and services (the Nextel brand will remain in some form), and it will be the only name on the new logo. Instead of Sprint's red and white, however, the logo will reflect Nextel's black and yellow color scheme.
Gary Forsee, Sprint's chairman and CEO, is now the president and CEO of the new company, which will have its corporate headquarters in Reston, Virginia (Nextel's home), and its operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas (Sprint's home). As of August 15, Sprint Nextel's stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under Sprint's ticker symbol (FON). Finally, Sprint is seeking federal approval to spin off its landline phone business.
- Network and technology
Sprint Nextel says it will continue to run the separate CDMA and iDEN networks for several years and that no customers will be forced to migrate from one technology to the other. As of now, the company promises it will operate iDEN through at least 2010 and that it will continue to offer Nextel's PTT Direct Connect service. As for Nextel's signature business services, it's unclear if we'll see any modifications.
In short, you should see no big changes for the time being. Eventually, however, Sprint Nextel will move toward folding iDEN into CDMA. The company is not saying exactly how and when that will happen, but I'd bet the 3G services that Sprint is developing will become a unifier. In July, Sprint said it would begin to roll out its EV-DO network in 2006, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's the direction they go. Likewise, the company said its ultimate goal is to combine Direct Connect with Sprint's own PTT service, called ReadyLink. Until that time, however, it won't be possible to make PTT calls between the two networks. Similarly, because CDMA and iDEN remain incompatible, you won't see any magic improvement in call quality anytime soon. As Sprint installs CDMA equipment on Nextel's cell sites, things may improve, but that is a few years off as well.
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Sanyo MM-A800
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Phones
As I said before, Sprint and Nextel cell phones couldn't be more different. Nextel customers tend to love their phones for their durability, so they'll be glad to know that few immediate changes will occur in this area. Nextel will continue to introduce new Motorola handsets, such as the Bluetooth-enabled
Nextel i605, while we'll see more classic Sprint mobiles, such as the
Sanyo MM-A800. In the future, maybe as early as next year, the company says it will develop dual-mode cell phones that operate over both CDMA and iDEN networks for regular and PTT calls.
Rate plans
Since customers will not be forced to migrate between the networks, all current contracts will remain in effect. Additionally, options for new plans are not supposed to change for some time. On the other hand, if you're thinking of switching and still on a contract, you'll want to wait for a while. Early terminations will still be subject to a fee during an organizational period. Sprint Nextel hasn't said how long that period will last, but once it's over, termination and new contract fees will be waived for customers moving between the two networks. Also during this initial period, you won't get free mobile-to-mobile minutes between Sprint and Nextel phones.
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Cell phone towers
Lately, I've seen quite a few stories about cell phone towers. As carriers expand their networks, they're meeting resistance in some areas from local residents. There was a particularly interesting occurrence last month in St. Louis. T-Mobile reached an agreement with a church over installing a new tower on its chimney, but neighbors tried to block the tower, citing health risks over cell phone radiation. After zoning officials initially turned down the proposal, a judge overruled the decision. T-Mobile, of course, said the antenna is harmless, as did the pastor of the church, which stands to get up to a couple thousand dollars in rent per month.
Cell phone towers are a perfect example of a "there's no simple answer" issue. It's easy to dismiss the neighbor's concerns as just another case of "not in my backyard" syndrome, but the crux of their anxiety--whether the towers pose a health risk--might be tough to brush aside. As we discuss in our cell phone radiation charts, and as I wrote in a recent On Call column, some tests have shown that cell phone radiation caused cancer in laboratory animals, but there is no conclusive or demonstrated evidence that they cause adverse health effects in humans. And that in itself is what makes some people anxious; there hasn't been any strong proof one way or the other. It's no surprise, then, that the carriers give such concerns little notice. Even the FCC has ruled that health concerns are not reason enough alone to block a tower's construction. But as I said, it's not an easy issue to answer. There are now more than 194 million cell phone users in the United States; understandably, all of them want reliable service and no dropped calls. And the only answer to those demands is to build more towers. So if you don't want a tower in your neighborhood, you may have to settle for spotty coverage.
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