Sprint will challenge Metro PCS in Florida!

[V. Barbarino]

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Shares of MetroPCS Communications Inc (PCS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Leap Wireless (LEAP.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fell on Monday after Sprint Nextel (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it expanded the trial of a service that pits it directly against those companies.

MetroPCS shares fell 6 percent, while Leap dropped 3 percent after Sprint unit Boost Mobile said it would expand its Unlimited by Boost service to 12 states from two. The news also helped push shares of Virgin Mobile USA (VM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) down 4 percent, Roe Equity Research analyst Kevin Roe said.

The service lets Boost customers make all the phone calls they want in their home town for a set monthly fee of as low as $45, depending on the market, and it does not require customers to commit to a contract. This is similar to the business models of Leap and MetroPCS. Virgin Mobile USA, a venture of Virgin [VA.UL], and Sprint targets some of the same customers who do not sign contracts.

Roe said the expansion meant a bigger increase in competition for MetroPCS than for Leap, which recently rejected a takeover offer from MetroPCS, because of the specific markets Boost had added.

"(MetroPCS and Leap have) never had unlimited competition like this before," said Roe.

Boost Mobile said it was expanding its service from just California and Texas to markets in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Sprint's then-chief executive, Gary Forsee, had said on Sept. 19 that the company was likely to expand the unlimited trial but did not give details at the time. Sprint, which has been struggling to keep customers itself, is looking for a new CEO.

MetroPCS fell $1.32, or 6 percent, to $20.60; and Virgin Mobile dropped 52 cents, or 4 percent, to $12.58, both on the New York Stock Exchange. Leap slid $2.13, or 3 percent, to $67.38 on Nasdaq.

((Reporting by Sinead Carew, editing by Richard Chang; email: sinead.carew@reuters.com; +1 646-223-6186)) Keywords: SPRINT UNLIMITED/

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[V. Barbarino]

This is the beginning of the end of the major cell providers.. Sprint is desperate and it knows this is the only way to win. Thus we will soon have two unlimited providers in Florida.. Ergo ATT and Verizon are in huge trouble, they will have follow suit..

Ain't competition great!

I've had Metro for years now, best fucking thing I ever bought, I save so much money. On avg my roommate spends 25 bucks more a month. I still don't know why he doesn't switch. There is truly some dumb people out there.

[pod]

Metro severely lags in 3G and other enhanced services. Fine if you just want a phone, but if you want to do anything current, forget about it. I do use the data side of things a lot so I stick with T-Mobile like I've done for the past eight or so years.

If Metro provided unlimited everything within this region, I'd splurge on a unit just to slave to my laptop.

[JMT]

how exactly is this the beginning of the end for major providers? people still want good reception and service, don't they? i know i do.

glad to see you don't still rock a Nextel.

[V. Barbarino]

Originally Posted by JMT

how exactly is this the beginning of the end for major providers? people still want good reception and service, don't they? i know i do.

glad to see you don't still rock a Nextel.

dude, I'd say 85% of my friends have metro, the reception is top notch.. I don't use data for my metro, I have no need for it, I just want to make phone calls. ATT and Verizon will loose massive market share if Sprint goes unlimited.

[swank]

Originally Posted by V. Barbarino

This is the beginning of the end of the major cell providers.. Sprint is desperate and it knows this is the only way to win. Thus we will soon have two unlimited providers in Florida.. Ergo ATT and Verizon are in huge trouble, they will have follow suit..

Ain't competition great!

I've had Metro for years now, best fucking thing I ever bought, I save so much money. On avg my roommate spends 25 bucks more a month. I still don't know why he doesn't switch. There is truly some dumb people out there.

How do you use your Moto Q? Do you have another provider for Data? Do you carry two phones? What happens when you travel? Do you have to load up the Metro account? Seems like too much trouble...

[ICON]

Originally Posted by V. Barbarino

dude, I'd say 85% of my friends have metro, the reception is top notch.. I don't use data for my metro, I have no need for it, I just want to make phone calls. ATT and Verizon will loose massive market share if Sprint goes unlimited.

i have to disagree with you on that one. There is a reason Metro PCS is known as Metro Piece of Shit - They didnt get that title by having top notch reception. Everytime someone calls me on their PCS the calls are either dropped or I can hear another phone conversation... And Sprint is just as bad... I used Sprint for a year and I hated dealing with that company.. had drop calls out the ass. Perhaps they have changed for the better since merging with Nextel.. but for me, the damage is done with that company. Fuck them, I dont care if they offer their services for free.

The ole' saying goes.. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

[pod]

It's the underlying technology. CDMA (used by Sprint on their 2G network and POS on their whole network) is pretty finicky.

Go with a good GSM provider like T-Mobile or AT&T.

[V. Barbarino]

Originally Posted by swank

How do you use your Moto Q? Do you have another provider for Data? Do you carry two phones? What happens when you travel? Do you have to load up the Metro account? Seems like too much trouble...

thats my work phone on Verizon.. My metro gets better reception. When I travel to NJ I just forward my calls to my Verizon, however it's only for 4 days a year or I just tell people via my vm to leave a vm and I'll call them back..

It's really not a big deal at all, it's actually nice not to get calls.

[V. Barbarino]

Originally Posted by ICON

i have to disagree with you on that one. There is a reason Metro PCS is known as Metro Piece of Shit - They didnt get that title by having top notch reception. Everytime someone calls me on their PCS the calls are either dropped or I can hear another phone conversation... And Sprint is just as bad... I used Sprint for a year and I hated dealing with that company.. had drop calls out the ass. Perhaps they have changed for the better since merging with Nextel.. but for me, the damage is done with that company. Fuck them, I dont care if they offer their services for free.

The ole' saying goes.. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

No way dude, you are lying. I've been using them for years, best service hands down...