Worst of the Week: Sprint’s groundhog day

Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
Sometimes things go your way, and other times you are Sprint.
This week was another fine example of that adage as Sprint’s rumored plans to acquire smaller (for now) rival T-Mobile US took a hit following word that French telecom operator Iliad (who?) had put in a bid for what is apparently the hottest commodity in the wireless carrier market: John Legere’s tweeting ability.
Details on the proposal seem to still be a bit convoluted, but the gist seems to be that Iliad wants some of that sweet T-Mobile US action, and more importantly is not afraid to show that affection right in front of Sprint’s face. This being the Sprint that has been rumored to be putting together everything necessary for a bid to acquire T-Mobile US except for the courage to actually say the words. Sort of reminds me of high school prom.
–Prom tickets? Check.
–Dinner reservations at Red Lobster? Check.
–Corsage? Check.
–Sweet baby blue tuxedo? Check.
–Talked dad into driving? Check.
–Asked someone to go to prom? Uh …
It’s tough to say, but this sort of incident could only happen to modern-day Sprint, a company that seems to be a day late and a dollar short for most things. Sure, with new mad man Masayoshi Son at its helm, that conservatism could change, but it appears that has yet to happen.
Some might say that Sprint has been busy behind the scenes prepping the stage for an offer by tackling all of the logistical and regulatory hurdles that are sure to come from a bid to consolidate the nation’s four largest offers to that magic number of three.

But, in the big-time game of high-stakes poker, sometimes you just gotta go all in regardless of what the outcome might be. Right AT&T?
I know Sprint is probably still stinging a bit from perhaps being too aggressive in going after Nextel Communications, a gift that continued to give up until the plug was pulled on Nextel last year, but sometimes you gotta have a short memory. (Speaking of which, where was Iliad … or anyone … back in 2004? Couldn’t someone have come in and given Sprint time to re-think that Nextel deal?)
Instead, Son’s French doppelganger and Iliad founder Xavier Niel, has taken over the role of aggressive underdog. (And how awesome is it that name? More billionaire tycoon’s need to have names like James Bond villains.)

So now, Sprint is left with what could be (another) bidding war for something that it probably should not be getting involved with, but is at a point of no return. If this happened to any other company, it might just be considered an anomaly. But, for it to be happening to Sprint … again … well, it’s gone straight past funny into sad with Sprint seemingly waking up every day to Sonny & Cher.

OK, enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Worst of the Week column. And now for some extras:
–Mobile application developer Privus Mobile said it will now offer what were previously “premium” features from its Caller ID app for free. These features include “Caller ID, Text ID, Voice Cue and Caller Lookup,” which are all designed to allow smartphone user to remain focused on driving instead of looking at their phones while driving.
Good to see the move towards making this free as it would seem keeping your eyes on the road while driving is something people can already do for free, though I am sure we have all seen how impossible this simple task is for many to master in everyday life.
–Finally, I don’t want to say that there was a specific reason RCR Wireless News came up with this weekly Worst of the Week concept, but San Francisco-based Eaze is the reason why WOTW was created.
The company launched a “new on-demand healthcare delivery service that enables patients to access” … wait for it … “medical marijuana easily, quickly and professionally via mobile device.”
Boom! WOTW is born!
Even better than this actually existing is the fact that Eaze claims it can deliver “medicine” to most “patients” within 10 minutes. No word if that includes a stop at the 7-11 for a big bag of Doritos Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch.
I am aware of the true medicinal claims for marijuana and am all for true patients having access to those benefits. But, as a resident of a state where medicinal marijuana has been legal for years and seeing what it really takes to have a “doctor” diagnose a 21-year-old with a case of glaucoma, well it’s all pretty funny.

So, well done Eaze. Should WOTW cease to exist tomorrow, you have at least done all you can to ensure that it had a reason to exist.
I welcome your comments. Please send me an e-mail at dmeyer@rcrwireless.com.
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