Stephen Bye is reported to be leaving his position as Sprint CTO on July 24
Sprint’s network issues look to have claimed another victim as published reports indicate Stephen Bye is set to leave his post as CTO at the carrier.
Fierce Wireless’ Mike Dano reported confirmation from Sprint that Bye would leave the company effective July 24. There was no comment on the reason for the move.
Stephen Bye
Bye joined Sprint in early 2011 as VP of technology development and strategy following a stint as VP of wireless at cable television provider Cox Communications, which had a mobile virtual network operator relationship with Sprint as part of its own mobile plans. Those plans were shuttered shortly after Bye’s departure.
Bye shortly added the CTO title at Sprint ahead of the carrier’s highly touted $5 billion Network Vision initiative that was to see the carrier work with its vendor partners in revamping its entire network architecture. However, that program was beset with challenges that saw the carrier’s network quality plummet and scare off customers.
Those issues eventually saw Bob Azzi, SVP of networks at Sprint, Steve Elfman, president of network operations, and Iyad Tarazi, VP of network technology development, all lose their jobs. Eventually Sprint CEO Dan Hesse also lost his position following Sprint’s acquisition by Japan’s Softbank.
Softbank founder Masayoshi Son, has taken a much more hands-on approach at Sprint, including naming key executives with network experience in Japan to help oversee Sprint’s network plans centered on its deep 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings.
Son has reportedly approved another round of funding to help Sprint continue to modernize its network in a move that is said to include a greater reliance on small cells and new cell sites. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure has said the current program will see the carrier’s network become industry leading by 2017.
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