Newsmaker: Sprint calling on wireless broadband

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Speaking of Apple, they decided to make the (iPhone) device available on AT&T/Cingular's network first. Will Sprint try to get the iPhone at some point?
Burris: We don't talk about future products roadmaps or plans. We feel really good about the lineup we have today. We've announced this week at CTIA that we are carrying the Samsung Upstage for $149. We also have some other music phones that are in the $50 or less range that let you download music over-the-air, which is something the iPhone won't do.

Sprint had a difficult first quarter in 2007. And the company seems to be struggling with its reputation in terms of the quality of its network. What are you doing to remedy this?
Burris: The perception is that we are still behind, but the reality is that we have invested $6 billion to $7 billion in the network, and we continue to spend to build out the network. Whether you have the broadest footprint or the best coverage, there are always certain pockets where it's hard to get service. It depends on where you live.

But we need to educate customers and subscribers where the coverage is. It's funny, Sprint will sometimes rank lower than our mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, partners, because that's the perception, which doesn't make sense. Making calls is still a priority and that has to work. But we also want to build on our history of offering great data and digital media products.

I don't think we, as an industry, have gotten it right yet. The next version of our service will look a lot different.

It's also important to be in line with our customers' expectations, whether that means meeting the right price point or having an extensive catalog of songs or even having an open network that allows people to side-load music.

A lot of the issues that are causing people to leave the network have been associated with Nextel. Is Sprint phasing out this network?
Burris: No, we wouldn't use the term "phasing out." But we are upgrading those subscribers to converged CDMA and iDEN handsets. This gives subscribers the best of both worlds. But the iDEN network isn't going away. We aren't abandoning anyone. Customers using Nextel phones will still be able to use the network.

There has been so much talk recently about watching TV on cell phones. Do you think people really want to watch TV on that tiny screen?
Burris: Americans love media; so I'm convinced they will want to see it on their cell phones. But mobile phones will never be a substitute for a big plasma TV.

We've been bullish on mobile TV since we launched the Mobi TV service in 2003 on our 1xEV-DO network. There are still people enjoying one- to two- to three-frames-per-second video. And now with EV-DO and faster handsets the experience is getting even better.

What needs to happen to entice the mass market to subscribe to mobile TV services?
Burris: First, we need better content. Viacom, for example, is developing true high-quality TV for mobile with programming from MTV to Comedy Central to Nickelodeon. We're moving beyond the teasers and promotional clips. And I think once people get to stuff they want to watch they will watch it in a real meaningful way.

We also aren't done improving the service. And we'll see things like putting the cable electronic programming guide on the phones as part of our partnership with the cable companies, so it looks like what you have at home. And then there are network improvements for faster networks, as well as faster handsets.

We've seen great uptake with our early mobile video services. But it's still early. And I don't think we, as an industry, have gotten it right yet. The next version of our service will look a lot different.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless plan to use Qualcomm's MediaFlo network to deliver live mobile TV. Is Sprint planning to use MediaFlo, too?
Burris: We did a trial in Las Vegas with MediaFlo. But we feel confident about our own roadmap.

What is that roadmap?
Burris: We'll continue to improve the CDMA and EV-DO networks as far as we can. And we look forward to using the 4G network. But we aren't closing the door on broadcast TV or MediaFlo. You can do broadcast or multicast with EV-DO Rev A. And theoretically we can get 99 stations of live TV on handsets using our EV-DO technology.

But right now, broadcast isn't really necessary. To really need broadcast, the video needs to be streamed concurrently among many users in a given cell. Our experience indicates that's not how people are watching mobile TV. People's interests are spread across lots of different content. And they're watching more on-demand shows rather than broadcast or streaming mobile TV. So we don't see the need quite yet. But if the need comes some day, then we will look at broadcast or multicast technologies.

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