Sprint, like every other operator around the world, owns a finite amount of spectrum. Some of that spectrum is currently being used for iDEN, which was briefly popular several years ago because it came with a “walkie-talkie” feature that annoying assholes loved to use so everyone could hear their conversations. Now that practically no one is using iDEN, Sprint has announced that they’re going to repurpose the spectrum that today is being wasted for all intents and purposes; this is called “refarming” in industry parlance. On June 30, 2013, iDEN will become a relic of the mobile phone industry. Now if you’re going to turn off a technology, you obviously don’t want to upset customers, especially new ones, so Sprint has just announced that they’re no longer going to be selling iDEN enabled devices. What about the people who actually like using their phone as a walkie-talkie? Sprint says that they’re working on enabling that feature using CDMA technology.
What’s Sprint going to do with all this spectrum that they’re going to have? Build out their 4G LTE network, which right now isn’t even live yet. We’re hoping Sprint would grow a pair of balls and declare that they’re going to kill CDMA and transition to a GSM based network, but that would be too disruptive for a company in such a fragile state. Quarter after quarter, Sprint is getting smaller and smaller, and it’s easy to see why. After they started selling the iPhone, their network pretty much because useless due to the increased load. There’s only so much you can do to fix that.
If you are a Sprint customer looking to switch, but don’t want to pay the insane fees that AT&T and Verizon demand, then check out Straight Talk. They’ll give you a SIM card with unlimited everything for $60 a month to access AT&T’s network. Don’t get AT&T coverage where you live? Well … enjoy giving Verizon $120 a month.