Can Sprint Improve?

Chris Neiger with The Motley Fool, a financial news outlet, took a closer look at Sprint’s network plans for the next two years, and wondered if the carrier really will be able to improve its network. Sprint and T-Mobile have been fighting for the #3 spot in the wireless carrier space, and recently T-Mobile was named the third largest carrier. But Sprint isn’t taking this lightly. They have been strategically crafting their plans to improve their network, and continue to say they will rise to the #1 or #2 spot in two years’ time. “It’s going to take some major upgrades to get there, and if some new analyst information proves true then we may now know how Sprint plans to pull it off,” Neiger wrote. The analyst information he’s referring to is that from Wells Fargo and Evercore ISI reporting that Sprint plans to add about 70,000 small cells, in addition to macro towers, to achieve this status. The small cells should help improve the network quality without spending too much money. Whether the company has the capital necessary to completely upgrade Sprint’s network has always been questionable. But small cells will solve this problem. Neiger noted, “If Sprint does goes through with the massive small cell build-out, it could put a strain on the suppliers in that market. Kevin Smithen, an analyst at Macquarie Capital, told Investor Business Daily this week that he thinks that an order of 70,000 Sprint cells could be more than the suppliers can handle. Verizon is building out its small cell network as well, and a large order of cells from Sprint could make it difficult for supplies to keep up.” The company will report their first fiscal earnings tomorrow, and the analysts will definitely look for more color on the small cell build out and network improvements.