No I don't. Didn't know half of what you listed. But when it comes to investing or trading a stock, I don't fret of what could have been or should have been and just move on. I have a similar story on two REITS I lost quite a bit of money. Sometimes it is time to swallow hard and move on for those things I had no control over. As for being a customer, it is indeed harder to make a move due to the different technologies in the phones. Sometimes I think it would be nice to switch to AT&T but it is difficult. So I remain with Verizon until the advantage of switching out weighs the trouble. The good thing is we do have 4 major players to pick from. Pick what works for you and be happy you made the right choice.
I agree, it's harder to switch. People used to asked me "why do you stay with Sprint when it doesn't work half the time"....
My answer was the most simplistic. I don't like change. I hate changing phone numbers. In a time where everyone has gone to mobile-only for phones..I still have my Vonage account, along with the same phone number that i ported from AT&T back in 2007, when I went from home phone + DSL to naked DSL only and got VOIP for my home phone.
I only keep the landline because...well...I dunno. I even d/c it for 3 months, and decided to go back when they called me up and asked why I d/c my service. I was able to get the same number I had all along after a 3 month hiatus ..so I just continue paying the $25 every month.
Same for Sprint. Used to, back in 07, 08, 09...when I would arrive at my house, I would turn my cell phone off because it didn't have signal anyway. Once I finally decided to move away from Sprint, I called and told them, and they talked me into trying an "Airave"... And that kept me with them. I still use my Airave, but I also have service without the Airave...
LTE doesn't reach quite to my house from the closest town, but I'm good with that too. It's too rural to worry about having LTE..
If I really wanted LTE that badly, AT&T has a tower 1 mile away, and Verizon is colocated on the tower with AT&T...both serve LTE to this area.
I'm not paying the VZW price..and I despise AT&T for DSL..I sure don't want the headache of their cell phones to go along with that.
It works, like you said. So I stick with it.
If Sprint does acquire Tmo, I just hope they axe John. What Marcelo has done with Brightstar (or what he "did" with Brightstar)...he's got a good vision and true entrepreneur attitude..I think he would be best served in the CEO role for a combined Sprint + Tmo.
John is a liability. Especially if you're not in the millennial group that John targets with his "hip" attitude and frequent use of F-bombs.
Just not what I think a CEO should be, even tho he has done many things for the cellular world, he's still in the position to make money for the stockholders, and that's what he does. People like him because they think he is on their side, but he's in the position he's in because it attracts a certain group of people. And as long as Tmo is adding subs, he will stay in the "hipness" mode.
Look as his interview when he was with Global Crossing as CEO. It looks like he went from businessman to cokehead when he made the transition to Tmo CEO.