Two of the biggest cellular phone providers, Sprint and T-Mobile, have announced that they are considering a merger for the first quarter of 2014, and the announcement has left some critics wondering if the move is, indeed, the right one. 

The Wall Street Journal announced the merger on Friday. And while, in theory, it would be a good move for the two cellular providers -- who are numbers 3 and 4 respectively in nationwide service -- because they would be better able to compete with AT&T and Verizon (who are numbers 2 and 1 respectively in nationwide service), critics believe that this merger could cause more problems than solutions.

The Washington Post reports that Sprint buying T-Mobile would give it 53 million subscribers; still a distant third to AT&T's 72 million and Verizon's 95 million, but a platform for more meaningful competition. Also, crucially, it would acquire more of the wireless spectrum that's needed to provide robust coverage over large geographic areas.

However, there are some legal concerns about this venture, according to VentureBlog. First of all, there are regulatory concerns. AT&T tried to buy T-Mobile less than two years ago, for $39 billion, and was ultimately shot down by the U.S. Justice Department. Justice's concern: So much consolidation hurts competition, and that tends to drive up prices for consumers. Second, the wireless technologies underlying the two companies are quite different. Third, regulators or not, the two companies are in the process of being wiped out by their larger rivals. It's not clear that tying together two losers is a good recipe for making a winner in this market. 

The same blog also argues that, ultimately, the merger will not go through because of the regulatory, technical, and practical issues surrounding it. The question remains: will Sprint's outdated platform be able to translate to T-Mobile's newer, faster platform? This may be the ultimate obstacle in allowing this merger to go through.