Sprint's Plans for Wireless

From the CTIA NewsWire: "A Washington Post report examines how Sprint Corp. plans to 'cut the cord' and focus on its wireless business. The company will relocate its corporate headquarters to Reston, VA upon merging with Nextel, forming the largest independent wireless carrier with no corporate ties to wireline companies. Sprint plans to partner with cable companies to offer alternate technologies replacing traditional wireline phone service and marketing bundles of entertainment and communications services, such as Internet-based phone service, high speed Internet connections and television and music via wireless phones. A new advertising campaign will encourage customers to 'cut the cord' on wireline service and use only wireless. The company will also spend nearly $3 billion on its network to improve wireless coverage in buildings. Finally, the company is developing a wireless phone hybrid complete with built-in Wi-Fi technology, allowing users to make calls over an Internet-phone at home and over the wireless network when away from home. (Source: Washington Post)"

As wireless communications develop, this move to encourage customers to "cut eh chord" will become more frequent and probably mostly accepted. What is interesting is Sprint's focus on improving fucntionality in buildings. One of the most common complaints for wireless customers is that their wireless phones cease functioning under layers of concrete and become extremely unreliable. We have grown to rely on phone communication and the steadfast stability of the wireline phone, independent of dead batteries and concrete surroundings is going to be hard to beat. I am interested to see whether the Sprint ad campaign will pay off... People do often drop landlines, but some try to bring them back as they realize a loss of certain social aspects of the wireline phone that is absent with a mobile. The individuation of communication can have very interesting effects on hoursholds. This is rarely a problem for those who live alone of course.