Hold your horses, folks. Although recent reports have hinted that a Sprint and T-Mobile merger is gaining steam, there's actually little to support that.
Despite concerns over regulatory hurdles, SoftBank chief executive and Sprint chairman Masayoshi Son reiterated the need for a merger with T-Mobile and praised the fellow carrier at Recode's Code Conference in California Wednesday.
Looks like T-Mobile's goal to shake up the wireless industry is paying off. The carrier reported an incredibly successful first quarter, adding more subscribers than any other U.S. wireless service provider and overtaking Sprint as the No. 3 smartphone buyer.
Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent company of T-Mobile, is demanding a $1 billion breakup fee if Sprint parent company SoftBank isn't able to convince U.S. regulators that Sprint should be allowed to buy out T-Mobile.
A proposed rule that would reserve certain amounts of low frequency spectrums for smaller carriers at the 2015 FCC spectrum auction continues to come under fire from carriers AT&T and Verizon. Sprint and T-Mobile, they say, have chosen to dig themselves into their current holes and shouldn't get crutches.
T-Mobile seems to be the hottest neighbor on the block. Satellite TV provider Dish Network could step in to buy out the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier if Sprint's plans to acquire the company don't go through.
Despite resistance from the U.S. government, Sprint could finally make an offer for U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile within a couple months, according to a new Bloomberg report.
AT&T has stated that it will be a willing participant in next year's FCC spectrum auction after initially balking at proposed rules that would reserve certain airwaves for smaller buyers.
A merger between Sprint and T-Mobile could set off a chain of events that change the rules for the 2015 FCC spectrum auction, according to recent reports.
A merger between Sprint and T-Mobile might not just be good for overall U.S. wireless market competition, it might also be necessary, at least according to some analysts.
Government officials are still wary of a Sprint and T-Mobile merger, citing consolidation concerns, but Cincinnati Bell's recent sale of its entire wireless spectrum to Verizon may help Sprint make its case.
A major wireless spectrum auction next year is set to shake up the wireless industry, and it could provide Sprint and its parent company, Japan-based SoftBank Corp., with a case for acquiring fellow carrier T-Mobile amidst concerns of further market consolidation.
Sprint, the third-largest wireless service provider in the United States, shed a number of jobs and shut down a number of stores as part of a larger plan to cut costs and turn the company's financial prospects around.
Sprint looks like it may get some support from T-Mobile concerning a potential merger between the two wireless networks as T-Mobile's chief financial officer stated he believes consolidation is inevitable at a media, internet and telecom conference Monday.
Sprint's support for acquiring fellow wireless service provider T-Mobile may be dwindling faster than it had hoped. Arguments that the two carriers can better compete with juggernauts Verizon and AT&T may lose steam as Deutsche Telekom AG, the owner of T-Mobile, is confident that T-Mobile can stand on its own.
