Sprint Sells 1.4 Million iPhones in Q3 2013, 40% to New Customers

[MacRumors]

Sprint revealed today in its Q3 2013 results that it had sold 1.4 million iPhones in the last quarter, with 40% of those iPhones being sold to new customers. The company announced a 5% year-over-year growth, posting a record postpaid service revenue of $5.8 billion. This is about consistent compared to the 1.5 million iPhones the carrier sold in the year-ago quarter. Sprint also announced LTE networks in 45 new markets, bringing its total number of LTE locations to 230 markets.

Sprint sold nearly 5 million smartphones in the third quarter with postpaid smartphone sales mix reaching record levels. Sprint sold nearly 1.4 million iPhones® during the quarter of which 40 percent were to new customers.

In 2011, Sprint committed to buying $20 billion worth of iPhones from Apple, and launched the iPhone on its prepaid Virgin Mobile USA brand in June 2012. Sprint will also launch the iPhone on its prepaid subsidary Boost Mobile on November 8.

Article Link: Sprint Sells 1.4 Million iPhones in Q3 2013, 40% to New Customers

 

[Tiger8]

Sprint and T-Mo

Sprint lead the effort to block the AT&T and T-Mobile merge...

In an interesting twist, now T-Mo has the iPhone too (without the 20 billion commitment) and has reinvented itself... and is going after Sprint customers...

 

[billnye97]

If the service wasn't so horrendous I might switch back but the data speeds were so slow when I was with them I can't imagine going back. Hopefully they are better.

 

[powers74]

I warned my uncle not to switch to Sprint. Now all he does is bitch about how crappy the service is. I begged him to go to T-mob instead, who I am so far, quite happy with. Maybe not as many dots at all times as AT&T had, but I still get at least a dot in places I rarely could before, such as in my windowless, concrete, steel roofed office… God… at least I have an iPhone.

 

[YourHerojb]

If the service wasn't so horrendous I might switch back but the data speeds were so slow when I was with them I can't imagine going back. Hopefully they are better.

I can't imagine I'm the only one kicking myself for having a sprint iPhone 5s. The greatest newest smartphone and I can't even use Siri or iTunes Radio because my data is so crap

 

[Xenomorph]

When I think of Sprint, this is what I'm reminded of:

* Slow speeds.
* Poor coverage.
* Currently the worst in regards to carrier lock.
* Poor customer support.

Please keep that in mind when looking at Sprint. If you want to save money, check out T-Mobile, first. They may have weak coverage compared to Verizon and AT&T, as well, but you're going to get a more 'open' device that can be used with other carriers if you decide to switch, and you can even bring your device over from a carrier like AT&T or (as of the iPhone 5) from Verizon.

 

[nekonari]

I can't imagine I'm the only one kicking myself for having a sprint iPhone 5s. The greatest newest smartphone and I can't even use Siri or iTunes Radio because my data is so crap

I've been on Sprint for a bit in Northern VA and DC, and I'm getting LTE a lot.. And when I have LTE, it's working just fine--unlimited streaming of anything. It's when I fall back to 3G that my iPhone's rendered useless.

Good news is, they're constantly improving network, and I see more LTE popping up in places I go.

I'm becoming less and less dissatisfied, and possibly okay with overall experience now.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

560,000 people just discovered how horrible Sprint's network is!

 

[CEmajr]

Sprint just lost a ton of customers. I'm willing to bet that Tmobile 3rd quarter numbers will show that they took most of those Sprint customers. Tmobile getting the iPhone this year was the worst thing that could've happened to Sprint. It took away their caveat of being the low cost major carrier with the iPhone and unlimited data. They need to improve their network fast.

 

[MattMJB0188]

All I gotta say is,... What the BLANK is wrong with people. They're the absolute worst carrier!

Some people are just really stupid and get suckered into anything. I laugh at those people!

 

[Black Magic]

All I gotta say is,... What the BLANK is wrong with people. They're the absolute worst carrier!

Some people are just really stupid and get suckered into anything. I laugh at those people!

You are the worse kind of person. The know it all even though you have little experience with the subject matter. Try a Sprint iPhone in a LTE area then come back and contribute some meaningful dialogue.

 

[Stellarola]

You are the worse kind of person. The know it all even though you have little experience with the subject matter. Try a Sprint iPhone in a LTE area then come back and contribute some meaningful dialogue.

We just got LTE in my area and I recently upgraded my 4S to an iPhone 5. The results have been amazing. I've had LTE coverage in most areas in my city. My download speed ranges from 13-21MB/s and upload from 2-6MB/s. I used to hate on Sprint in my area only because of the poor coverage.

....No more.

+1 to Sprint

 

[TJH133]

I bet a good chunk of those 40% came out of Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile seems to be getting better and stealing customers from Verizon and AT&T as well.

I want Sprint and T-Mobile to keep slamming the Big 2 so they forced to stop abusing their power. AT&T kind of has me trap under my grandfathered unlimited data plan and well I need their coverage as I go in areas that T-Mobile and Sprint are a no go.

 

[Xenomorph]

You are the worse kind of person. The know it all even though you have little experience with the subject matter. Try a Sprint iPhone in a LTE area then come back and contribute some meaningful dialogue.

If I were to try Sprint LTE, I'd have to travel a long distance or outright move my family.

Smoke signals have better coverage than Sprint LTE in many areas.

I'm in St. Louis, and while you can get Verizon, AT&T, and now even T-Mobile LTE coverage here, Sprint's own LTE coverage map is just blank for the area.
In fact, there are entire states without a single Sprint LTE tower.

And the locations that DO have Sprint LTE? Sprint's own info (http://network.sprint.com/) shows that its LTE performance is similar to AT&T's and T-Mobile's HSPA+/3G performance!

So, yeah, I still believe Sprint isn't the best choice, especially with the carrier-locked devices. Sprint service only works with Sprint phones. That makes them the least valuable devices out there.

I became a Sprint customer in the 1990s. Their Digital PCS phone seemed like it would be the best option. Coverage was terrible. I had to stand outside to make a call from home. I finally dropped them around a decade later, and coverage was still just as bad.

 

[YourHerojb]

I've been on Sprint for a bit in Northern VA and DC, and I'm getting LTE a lot.. And when I have LTE, it's working just fine--unlimited streaming of anything. It's when I fall back to 3G that my iPhone's rendered useless.

Good news is, they're constantly improving network, and I see more LTE popping up in places I go.

I'm becoming less and less dissatisfied, and possibly okay with overall experience now.

I did actually call and Sprint is working on an LTE tower near me that could be completed within a month.

They did tell me a year ago that it may be done in 6 months, but I'll forgive that if it gets going to be ready within 2 months.

I would consider paying for hotspot if I can have 4g LTE

 

[Black Magic]

If I were to try Sprint LTE, I'd have to travel a long distance or outright move my family.

Smoke signals have better coverage than Sprint LTE in many areas.

I'm in St. Louis, and while you can get Verizon, AT&T, and now even T-Mobile LTE coverage here, Sprint's own LTE coverage map is just blank for the area.
In fact, there are entire states without a single Sprint LTE tower.

And the locations that DO have Sprint LTE? Sprint's own info (http://network.sprint.com/) shows that its LTE performance is similar to AT&T's and T-Mobile's HSPA+/3G performance!

So, yeah, I still believe Sprint isn't the best choice, especially with the carrier-locked devices. Sprint service only works with Sprint phones. That makes them the least valuable devices out there.

I became a Sprint customer in the 1990s. Their Digital PCS phone seemed like it would be the best option. Coverage was terrible. I had to stand outside to make a call from home. I finally dropped them around a decade later, and coverage was still just as bad.

If you cant get Sprint LTE coverage then its probably not worth it.

Not sure why the iPhone carrier lock matters at all. When I buy a phone, Im not planning on jumping around from carrier to carrier within the 2 year contract window. Also, I dont think the other iPhones work fully on the other carriers. You telling me a Verizon iPhone will get full AT&T services?

 

[odin]

Sprint has traditionally been pretty poor for data speeds. (If not downright terrible.) I can happily say that has changed in my area. I had a Sprint work phone that has dramatically improved both here and in areas I've traveled. It is still spotty but improving rapidly. So I've just switched my personal phones over from AT&T which had the worst service imaginable in my area. So those of you who like to blanket a carrier based on your personal experiences, please realize not everyone shares your difficulties.

 

[burnout8488]

Sprint is awesome now - they've rolled out LTE in many of the areas I travel, and with that came huge increases in 3G speeds as well. 1-2Mb/s in some
places. Extremely usable, almost negating the need for LTE in some areas.

Once 800Mhz LTE arrives in 2014, their footprint will be even larger, with more LTE penetration through buildings for indoor use.

I'm super happy with Sprint, and urge anyone that was a victim of "Old Sprint" to give them a try. If you're in an area where upgrades have not occurred yet though, Sprint is taking care of it. Do some research and find out the timeline for your market. (S4GRU.com forums)

 

[locoboi187]

Sprint is awesome now - they've rolled out LTE in many of the areas I travel, and with that came huge increases in 3G speeds as well. 1-2Mb/s in some
places. Extremely usable, almost negating the need for LTE in some areas.

Once 800Mhz LTE arrives in 2014, their footprint will be even larger, with more LTE penetration through buildings for indoor use.

I'm super happy with Sprint, and urge anyone that was a victim of "Old Sprint" to give them a try. If you're in an area where upgrades have not occurred yet though, Sprint is taking care of it. Do some research and find out the timeline for your market. (S4GRU.com forums)

Only the 5S can access the 800Mhz LTE for Sprint. Not the 5!

 

[burnout8488]

True, BUT the 5 can still access the 1x800 band for super far reaching voice/slow data in extremely rural areas. (There are reports of people being able to connect to 1x800 as far as 40-50 miles away from a cellular site!) Not as important to most people, but worth mentioning nonetheless.

 

[FelixDerKater]

People want unlimited data. Sprint offers it. There is no surprise here.

 

[spicynujac]

By my math that's not even ONE Billion dollars! And they are promising to buy 20 billion?!? Note that I used the base $650 price.. Assuming some more expensive models, they probably are just over the one Billion mark.

 

[eecyclone]

I hope those people know the terrible slow service they are getting themselves into. I just left sprint for verizon. I would have gone to ATT but Verizon has much better coverage in the rural areas I am in when I visit family. I even get LTE out at the farm!

 

[m1key]

We just got LTE in my area and I recently upgraded my 4S to an iPhone 5. The results have been amazing. I've had LTE coverage in most areas in my city. My download speed ranges from 13-21MB/s and upload from 2-6MB/s. I used to hate on Sprint in my area only because of the poor coverage.

....No more.

+1 to Sprint

I just switched to T-Mo from Sprint. With my iPhone 4S, the 3G speeds I was getting was 0.13 mbps down and 0.01 mbps up, horrendous to say the least. I didn't want anything to do with Sprint after my contract was up -- I didn't even want to try their LTE. For 4 years they have been saying they were going to put "4g" (WiMax) in this area and even made people pay premiums for it when it wasn't available, still isn't here. I'm glad you're getting good LTE speeds though. Problem is that generally speaking, Sprint and T-Mo have two very different strategies for their LTE rollouts. T-Mo focuses on the biggest cities and works their way outwards, whereas Sprint has been setting up LTE in smaller areas away from big cities. T-Mo works out better for me because I live in Metro Detroit, and go to med school in East Lansing. I am back and forth between the two.

Here are my LTE speeds from home (Metro Detroit): 29 down, 10 up

Here are my LTE speeds from my apt at school (East Lansing): 39 down, 14 up

I don't have to have 5 or even 4 bars to get these speeds. Also, when it falls back to "4g" (HSDPA+) I am still getting 10-18 mbps down (sprint's backup would get me .13 down). Granted, I don't get LTE in as many places as let's say AT&T, but in all the places I frequent I do (home, school, apt, etc). It costs me almost as much as Sprint monthly (a little less). I have unlimited everything (voice, text, data-(only 2.5 gb for tethering)).

EDIT: sorry for the big pics

 

[aliensporebomb]

Network Vision

Sprint is still rolling out its Network Vision revamp of their network. It's a huge, gigantic project that even I realize was optimistic in their assessment of when it would be over. There are still 3 towers left to upgrade in my suburb but the rest are all going and I get great speeds from them when I can reach them. Unfortunately, Minneapolis is still not technically live 100% and that will take a bit.