The Continuing Struggle to Please Customers

Compared to retailers and credit-card companies, wireless carriers provide a less useful and enjoyable customer experience. This was the information gathered from a study done by Forrester research. Perhaps this information also moved some carriers to promise better programs to increase consumer satisfaction next year.

It certainly seem logical for wireless service providers to pay attention to giving better service because the study ranked them fifth among nine industries. Retailers, investment firms, insurance companies and credit-card providers were all rated as giving better service than wireless networks.

Of course, wireless providers have also scored some points with their customers because they consider Internet service providers, TV service providers and medical insurance providers inferior to wireless carriers in terms of customer satisfaction. However, considering that the wireless phone industry is probably the fastest growing and most lucrative industry in this age, increasing the level of customer satisfaction should be made a priority. After all, a
happy and satisfied customer will be willing to spend more.

Sprint and Nextel brands, Alltel Corp., Virgin Mobile USA and prepaid provider Tracfone Wireless Inc. were included in the Forrester survey. The results showed that Virgin Mobile USA Inc. received the top ranking while the Sprint and Nextel brands received the lowest marks. Alltel ranked second followed by T-Mobile USA Inc. Verizon Wireless came in at No. 4, followed by Tracfone, and AT&T Mobility.

Virgin Mobile USA received “excellent” rating for ease of use. it also garnered the highest rank for its usefulness and whether or not their experience with the company was enjoyable. This is interesting since Mobile USA’s service runs on Sprint Nextel Corp.’s CDMA network.

It seems that Sprint Nextel is consistently earning thumbs-down from various consumer surveys. For instance, Consumer Reports’ said that it would not recommend service from Sprint unless a customer specifically wanted push-to-talk service. The company has also ranked near the bottom of customer satisfaction surveys by J.D. Power and Associates.

Fortunately, Sprint has responded to this ratings by hiring several thousand more customer care representatives to improve the customer experience. The company is also planning to increase its focus on retaining subscribers rather than trying to bring in new ones and launch loyalty-based incentive programs. Hopefully, the company will be able to increase it's stature in terms of providing customer care.

Sprint Names New President and CEO

Daniel R. Hesse a veteran of the wireless industry an the former chairman, president and CEO of Embarq Corporation has been named as president and chief executive officer of Sprint. The Sprint Nextel Board of Directors has voted to place him in charge of the company effective immediately.

Let's become more familiar with Mr. Hesse and his stellar career. Daniel served as CEO of Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division for one year before he headed Embarq. He has also served as the president and CEO of AT&T Wireless Services which was then the United States' largest wireless operator. He was also a member of Sprint Nextel's board of directors.

Board member Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr., who chaired the board's CEO search committee said, "Dan Hesse is the right person to lead our company. He is a proven leader with deep wireless experience as a chief executive and an established track record of generating strong operating performance. He has the board's full support to take decisive actions necessary to improve our performance."

You can read more about Hockaday's comments on this important announcement at Sprint's Newsroom .

Another major announcement made by by Sprint Nextel's board concerns the election of JamesH. Hance to continue in his role as non-executive chairman. He is a senior adviser to the Carlyle Group and retired vice chairman and board member of Bank of America. He has been a Sprint board member since February 2005. When Gary Forsee, who had been chairman, president and CEO, stepped down in October, Hance was named non-executive chairman.

I guess it's safe to assume that Hesse will bring a lot of experience as the new head of Sprint. He will be able to provide direction to Sprint and will hopefully bring the company to greater heights.

WiMAX Soft-launch Announced by Sprint

Let me give you one of the top wireless network news for this week.

Sprint, one of the top wireless service providers has announced that the iMAX networks in Chicago and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. will be turned live sometime this week. However, this soft-launched will only extend to Sprint workers. This move was meant as a preparation for a broader customer trial in the near future. The company will be just under deadline for its promised trial deployment by the end of the year if the WiMAX launch will be done this week.

Everyone in the wireless industry has been waiting for Sprint’s Xohm launch due to its scale and scope. Mobile WiMAX networks using pre-certified IEEE 802.16e equipment have been previously launched by other smaller and international operators.

The announcement also explained that the soft launches will cover the downtown cores of Chicago, Baltimore and Washington. Rapid outward expansion following existing cellular data traffic patterns throughout their respective cities will begin after the initial launches. The upcoming customer trials are intended to be short because they will used to optimize the network for a full commercial launch.

The company has plans to expand its network to 100 million people by the end of the year. It is planning a fully mobile launch from the get-go, starting with laptop wireless cards and eventually moving to mobile devices as they become available unlike other operators deploying the technology for fixed broadband. There are also plans to allow any device or service provider to access the network by offering the service on an open basis.


However, there may also be changes to the grand scope of Sprint's plans change next year. This is due to the re-examination of Xohm plans early next year in the wake of financial difficulties. Financial troubles forced the company and and Clearwire to call off plans to combine their networks.

Sprint's capital investment in the new network only totaled $73 million in the third quarter even though the company declared that it is still committed to seeing WiMAX through. The investment pales in comparison to the $2.5 billion it said it would spend on the project.

Unless Sprint management decides to change up its strategy next quarter, it will proceed with its deployment schedule as planned. About ten thousand 10,000 base station sites, many of them cell sites for its existing CDMA network has been readied for deployment. More news about this development will be released in the nest few days.

Self-Service Phone Activation Deployed by Virgin Mobile USA

A few days ago, Telespree Communications made an announcement concerning Virgin Mobile USA's deployment of their company's solution to automate its mobile handset programming process. Telespree Communications is one of the the leading device based self-service platform provider for wireless carriers and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).

On the other hand, Virgin Mobile USA is a major national provider of wireless communications services. They are known for offering services that have no annual contracts and serving nearly five million customers.

The company has began incorporating the Telespree programming solution on Virgin Mobile USA handsets in the third quarter 2007. The implementation of the OTA solution in all new handsets is part of their plans for the future.

Telespree technology has been deployed for first time programming of new Virgin Mobile USA devices. It is also employed for existing users who want to change or upgrade their mobile phones. Using wireless technology from Telespree, the mobile phone becomes automatically programmed. The process eliminates manual inputs or assistance from customer care agents.

This highly anticipated self-service solution is designed to streamlines wireless device programming and provisioning of voice and data devices. It is expected that the platform will deliver secure authentication and over-the-air device programming to any non-active, wireless device without customer care or inputs.

Wireless carriers may be able to offer 100% automated device programming as well as service enrollment and ongoing account maintenance to customers and retail channels if this process is proven to be successful. They will be able to benefit from customer support costs and the users will have improved experience.

Perhaps other mobile service providers will be drawn towards Telespree's solution. This process does have good advantages and undoubtedly other wireless companies will explore the possibility of using it for their operations.

AT&T Follows Verizon in Opening up Network

Perhaps in responce to Verizon Wireless' announcement last week that it would open up its network, AT&T has also made it known that their subscribers will be able to attach outside devices and run outside applications.

Information about this significant AT&T decision will be publicized through salespeople at AT&T stores. It will also be possible for AT&T's customers to take their handsets to other mobile service providers using GSM.

Customers can purchase a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) through the company if they want to bring a GSM device to the AT&T network. Activation of the device will follow if it operates in U.S. spectrum frequencies.However, there is one very vital exception.

It has been made clear that AT&T will not unlock the iPhone to use on other networks. An AT&T spokesman explanins, "we will unlock the device when customers fulfill their contract; we will also unlock the device if the customer pays full price for the device," he said. "The iPhone, however, is an exception. The iPhone is exclusive to AT&T in the U.S." Needless to say, this decision is highly unpopular.

A spokesman for open-access advocate Public Knowledge said that, "The theme is fine, and we approve, but would like to see more details." I think the details about this issue will come out when all the aspects have been worked out.

However, I do think that this will lead to a more positive changes in terms of oping up of networks. Perhaps the other networks will also decide to open their networks and provide balance in the wireless phones market.

View Live NFL Games on Sprint Mobile Phones

Football Fans who subscribe to Sprint Nextel's wireless phone services will now be able to see their favorite teams duke it out on the turf with the help of their cellphones. The National Football League (NFL) and the wireless company are working together to provide live videos of NFL game coverage on the mobile phones of Sprint.

NFL Network will be responsible for providing the coverage. They will produce a three-hour studio-based show that will be streamed live on NFL.com and via wireless exclusively to Sprint subscribers. If you love football then you should really consider switching to Sprint. If you are already a subscriber then get this mobile video service before the football season ends. This service will give you another option when you want to watch a video of your favorite NFAl games. You can now watch games on HD TV, online videos and your mobile phone.

The coverage highlights involves the critical moments in a game such as when a team enters the red zone, during scheduled time slots at the :15 and :45 marks. Replays, in-game highlights and analysis from that night's action, and the halftime show will also be featured in the coverage.

Sprint subscribers will have round the clock access of the NFL Network live telecast via NFL Mobile and Sprint TV. If they choose to they can have unlimited access to NFL Mobile with any Sprint Power Vision pack at no additional cost. They simply need to text "NFL" to 7777 to gain access to the telecast.

As of this month, NFL Mobile has been downloaded by at least a million Sprint customers and NFL Network continues to be the most popular channel on Sprint TV. Stats,scores, official play-by-play, video highlights and customizable text alerts from NFL Mobile can be delivered faster than any other carrier with information updated every 10 seconds on game days.

This is definitely a sweet deal for football fans. They can now get access to their favorite NFL team's games and see the highlights and updates of the league games. The current season is exciting led by the undefeated New England Patriots and no fan will want to miss an undefeated season or their first loss. With the help of Sprint and the NFL, they can be sure that they won't miss a single moment.

The Wireless Technology Behind US Cellular's Success

US Cellular is considered as one of the top Wireless phone service providers in the United States. It is a Chicago-based U.S. company that provides quality wireless service in 189 markets in 26 states and caters to more than 6 million customers. When it comes to offering a high level of customer satisfaction, this company is rated among the leaders. That can be expected in a company that emphasizes customer support, quality network coverage and comprehensive range of wireless products and services.

To improve its network and provide excellent wireless service, US Cellular has spent millions of dollars in technological enhancements. It is currently using CDMA-1X digital technology to add more voice capacity, high-speed data products and features, and expanded coverage areas to its ever growing network.

Let us examine the technology behind the success of US Cellular more extensively. CDMA or Code-Division Multiple Access is a term that describes any of several protocols used in so-called second-generation (2G) and third-generation (3G) wireless communications. IT is a form of multiplexing wireless technology. Numerous signals will be able to occupy a single transmission channel with the help of this invention thus allowing for optimal use of available bandwidth.

This wireless wonder also uses analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in combination with spread spectrum technology. This combination digitizes audio input into binary elements. Then, the frequency of the transmitted signal is made to vary according to a defined pattern. This process ensures that the signal can only be intercepted only by a receiver whose frequency response is programmed with the same code. This means that the signal must follow exactly along with the transmitter frequency for a successful transmission. The result is enhanced privacy and less chance of cloning because there is an overwhelming number of of possible frequency-sequencing codes. US Cellular is using the latest CDMA technology which is called 1XRTT.

To break it down, let me give you the advantages that US Cellular's CDMA 1XRTT wireless technology can offer. The foremost benefit with the use of CDMA is the minimal number of blocked calls. The risk of disruption or blocked calls is minimized because of this technologies method of passing calls between cells.

CDMA technology also reduces background noise and interference during phone calls because it combines multiple signals and improves signal strength. Since this innovation has digitally encoded, broad spectrum transmissions that help reduce wireless eavesdropping, a wireless network that uses it will have improved security and privacy.

A network that uses a Code-Division Multiple Access will also benefit from greater capacity because a large number of customers to will be able to share the same radio frequencies. CDMA can provide up to 10 to 20 times the capacity of analog equipment and more than three times the capacity of other digital platforms because it uses a broad spectrum technology.

CDMA technology will also provide expanded coverage at a reduced cost to any wireless network. This is largely due to the broad spectrum signal that provides enhanced coverage. The wireless network can be establish built with fewer cell sites with the help of CDMA than is possible with other wireless technologies.

This technology is largely responsible for US Cellular's ability to provide excellent service and satisfaction to its millions of customers across the nation. As this company continues to pump more money into improving its wireless network, it will continue to do a stellar job of providing a high level of customer satisfaction and quality wireless service.