Sprint's riffed about the possibility of
migrating to LTE in the past --
as has its 4G partner, Clearwire -- so it's no big surprise to hear CEO Dan Hesse tell the
Financial Times today that he's still open to the idea down the road, possibly side-by-side with the company's existing WiMAX deployment thanks to its deep spectrum holdings. What's far more interesting, though, is his concession that there's "logic" to exploring a merger with T-Mobile USA in the event that they both move to LTE for their next-gen networks. For its part, T-Mobile
hasn't announced its 4G plans yet, but it's an open secret than Deutsche Telekom
has explored the idea of selling off its US outpost in the past. Combined, it seems that Sprint and T-Mobile -- neither of whom have the firepower to compete with giants AT&T or Verizon on every level -- would create a strong third-place carrier capable of nipping at their heels.
FT says that the idea of a Sprint deal was rejected back in 2008 on grounds that the two have incompatible networks, so who knows... if that restriction were removed, there might yet be love in the air.
posted July 13th 2010 10:46AM
I love sprint !!!!
@Nanosman1994
and I love T-Mobile!
@Revolutionary And I love Mary!!
@Revolutionary and @Nanosman1994
I now pronounce you Husband and Wife
....well if one of you is female...hmm, this was a much better idea in my head...
@Nanosman1994 Make calls to anymobile anytime not war
@pastorbob
Hey. It's legal in a few states ;)
WiMAX OUT! And NO there is not a "firmware upgrade" to go from WiMax to LTE. So please don't even go there. Sayin...
Wait wans't T-Mobile supposed to buy Sprint last year? :p As long as Sprint doesn't change and start acting like Big Red and Big Blue then it's all good!
@Nanosman1994
Hey, you got your T-Mobile in my Sprint!
Hey! You got your Sprint in my T-mobile!
Both companies are great but this merger would be a killer :)
@Frankenstein Black Yeah in order to stay competitive they'd have to ditch WiMax and eventually go to LTE. Probably in the next 3-5 years when all of the existing 4G phones(EVO for now and Galaxy S imminent) go off of contract. What is the better tech anyway?
@Frankenstein Black
The technology behind both is very similar. What are you talking about?
@Nanosman1994 I like sprint for the phones, but their coverage in my area is not the best. If Sprint and T-Mobile marry, I will buy their sweet sweet babies.
@pastorbob haha wtf
@Nanosman1994 haha.. I have no idea.
@Revolutionary Plz give me this, i love sprint and t mobile they actually tret here customers with respect. Customer sevice on Sprint is so greatly improved from years past!
@Nanosman1994
This. This is a good thing. Here's hoping that Sprint and T-Mobile come together like Voltron.
Being our merger with nextell's iden went so fantastical and we only lost like 6 billion dollars, we wana try out penta-mode handsets now cdma-gsm-iden-lte-wimax
@Nanosman1994
802.16m >>> LTE-Adv
Stay with Wimax Sprint..
But in reality the issue is that there will simply be more people behind LTE due to suppliers (Ericsson & Nokia [they supply AT&T & VZW)>>> Motorola, whoever else [supplying Sprint & etc]) I'm sure it's not a cost or technology issue in reality. You have to go with the decisions of whoever supplies your network equipment. Maybe there's more money to profit from in LTE than Wimax for suppliers (doesn't make the technology better though, see Apple)
@OjSimpson
That's about as dumb as it gets. Remember, back in 2004, people (i.e., anyone EXCEPT Nextel subscribers) said that a merger between Sprint and Nextel would be KILLER because of Nextel's stellar CS and PTT, and Sprint's 3G network. Alas, we know how that has turned out: LOUSY!
T-Mobile would be wiser to simply take over Sprint, shut down the entire CDMA network, and then force Cleawire into converting to LTE and be done with it.
@Nanosman1994 - It would be cool to see the underdogs team up. Surely, they can do this with LTE/WiMax as long as they both move. Tmobile would also need to support Wimax.
There is no way really for them to have octo-band phones, though, so someone is goig to have to move over to a GSM standard. Considering GSM is a world standard, it would make sense for Sprint to give in a bit.
I see only good things.
@robotlove
Iden would be killed and used for 4g. The Nextel spectrum is ripe for some 4g
@emaildejan
That would keep T-Mobile horrid coverage a get rid of Sprints great coverage
@Nanosman1994
Just what Sprint needs adding another completely different wireless network in their fold.
CDMA and GSM
I hope they keep the two companies separate.
@emaildejan you think the best idea is for TMo to "take over" Sprint? That would be a very stupid idea. Because there are people (like me) who have been Sprint customers for over a decade and if we were forced into a GSM service from a "kiddie/sidekick" company like TMo we'd all just say "screw it" and go with a real GSM company like AT&T. As someone who's worked in the cell phone industry for years upon years at this point I can safely say the only successful mergers are the ones that do their best to respect both sides of the fence.
@Nanosman1994
Oh and don't get it twisted either. Wimax is going no where. Sprint owns like 55+% of Clearwire (data servicers and spectrum holders building out the Wimax network). Sprint has the most bandwidth for 4G technology, they can (and will) do both if they want to, especially if they get a hold of T-Mobile's soon to be HSPA+ network.
@Nanosman1994
wimax is ghetto wifi with slow speeds of 2.5 mbps, which isnt even close to REAL 4g like LTE
@MicrosoftOwns Especially because LTE isn't 4G either. We have no idea how fast LTE will be in the US because we don't know what the load on the system will be, how much spectrum will be used, or what Verizon/AT&T will artificially cap the speeds at.
@Nanosman1994
I used to love Sprint - they had a good selection of phones and great prices.
Now they want anyone who had one of the good plans, to move to a new plan that is much more expensive than the old plans if you want to get a current technology phone like the EVO.
Tmobile still has great prices and you can get great phones however Tmobile's network sucks.
If T-mobile let you get the same plan they currently offer but on the Sprint network, I'd be thrilled. Then I could buy a verizon phone that I liked and put it on Sprint's network which is now LOCKED so you can't have the phone you want on Sprint currently.
Lately, Sprint never ceases to dissappoint.
@MicrosoftOwns
Fact! LTE is 3.9G; Wimax is like 3.75G
I hate all of them.
@emaildejan sprint isn't lousy for me! I'm looking forward to Wimax 2.
@Nanosman1994 It would make more sense to me for T-Mobile to merge with AT&T since it would take the least amount of work to switch T-Mobile's network over to a different frequency band. AWS.... *blech* I have nightmares about the AWS band's inability to properly serve 3G through walls and into buildings... just as much as I do about Sprint's WiMAX service's inability to do the same with "4G".
@DefPoet
Just the opposite. All T-Mo would have to do is simply dump the Sprint antenna and replace them with T-Mo antenna when the time comes. How is that a bad thing? They'd have stellar coverage (well, better than it is now...since even Sprint itself has lousy coverage), and users could have HSPA+ download speeds...and then the company could worry about LTE later.
@AggieKyle
And then there are Nextel customers like myself who have had stellar service up until this merger, and have had lousy service and support ever since. So, yes, I think it's plenty fair. What's good for the goose (i.e., Nextel) is most assuredly good for the gander (i.e., Sprint). After all, Sprint hasn't respected a darn thing with regards to Nextel, so obviously you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. But hey...you are entitled to your opinion, no matter how wrong it is.
@OjSimpson Yes, a killer of competition. Choice is good for us, mergers are not.
@Nanosman1994 i agree! sprint has the best phones and nicest plans and pretty decent coverage where i live. i had to switch tho :(
@AggieKyle
good luck with AT@T the dropped call leader. In 5 years with T mobile I've dropped 2 calls,
@emaildejan
"All T-Mo would have to do is simply dump the Sprint antenna and replace them with T-Mo antenna when the time comes."
And simply dump over half of the combined company's customers. Simple right?
Can you imagine how pissed off you'd be if your provider suddenly said to you after a merger:
Dear Sir/Madam,
We regret to inform you as of last night we will no longer be operating the network your device used. We apologize for the inconvenience turning your phone into a pretty little paperweight has caused. Please come into your nearest store and purchase a new phone which utilizes our new service to continue using your service.
Luckily, this sort of thing would not be happening for a few years at the earliest. When large national cell phone companies merge, for the FCC and other governing bodies to approve said merge, the combining companies must make assurances that there will not be a detrimental impact on current service for the customers.
Meaning, CDMA would be there to stay for at the very least a couple-to-few years down the line. And if the old Analog networks have shown, it will probably take upwards of a decade or more to make the complete changeover.
(The last vestiges of the analog AMPS networks were finally given the go-ahead for shutdown in the US around early 2008 or so after having been in service since the 80's)
@emaildejan What about the millions of CDMA phones out there then? It's obvious that GSM and LTE is the future for Sprint and Verizon, but it seems a bit drastic to make every subscriber aside from some BlackBerry users to get a new phone.
@NemZero
I would say LTE-Adv >>>>> 802.16m
First LTE-Adv has already proven that it can meat the IMT Advanced requirements and exceed them.
Yes, there are much more resources behind LTE, all the big players support it. Some vendors like Nokia and Nortel did support both LTE and WiMAX but later dropped it and focused fully on LTE and TD-LTE.
From the suppliers point of view there is more money to be made with LTE/TD-LTE than on WiMAX, as the market is larger and it has better economics of scale. But for those few vendors who still makes WiMAX equipment it can prove to be a gold mine as there is much less competition.
@bluesmixer
Fact! Laboratory tests figures don't improve your real world speeds! Its like those kids with stock hondas who think if they put enough stickers on it their car will be fast..
American 4G will be a step slower than European for the same reason every other American Wireless Network is behind.. Our companies cover virtually a whole continent while theirs cover states, less red tape and deployment issues..
And the latest WiMax ratification is well over 100mbps which is the technical barrier for 4G.. As of now there is NO 4G
In Laymen's terms WiMax and Lte are 4G tech because they are the 4th generation of wireless, are fundamentally superior to anything CDMA based such as EVDO rev B or HSPA+, and both use OFDMA...
So if you have a lab coat on WiMax isnt 4G to everyone else it is okay!
@bluesmixer
Incorrect. LTE doesn't meet the 4G IEEE standards and is, as you stated in reality 3.9G. But WiMax does meet industry standards and is there for true 4G. The problem we will see now that AT&T and Verizon implement LTE is that both carriers combined only own about 1/5th the spectrum that Sprint has and will suffer because of this. Add in the fact that LTE doesn't meet industry standards which in turn makes it not compliant with SOX. This means that many companies will not be able to use those carriers for data leaving Sprint as the only option.
LTE enhanced is up for IEEE approval this year, but neither Verizon, or AT&T have any plans to implement LTE enhanced for at least another 2 - 5 years. Meanwhile WiMax enhanced is also up for approval this year which will boost speeds by 70%, and all that is required to enjoy those enhanced speeds will be a software update to the current devices.
LTE peak speeds are currently at 10 - 20 Mbs, and the enhanced version (requires actual hardware upgrade) only ups those speeds by another 5 Mbs.
WiMax as it stands is capable of 40 Mbs (software caps on the devices though keep it in the 3 - 10 range), the enhanced version (software upgrade for all current devices) will increase the current speed to around 70 Mbs.
Add in that WiMax m is just around the corner as well, and will probably be approved and we will be seeing gigabit speeds giving WiMax the clear win.
Don't forget that WiMax is also already deployed in over 150 countries around the world, and is backed by Motorola, Intel, Hitachi, Huawei, NEC, Samsung, Sequans, UQ and ZTE. This all makes it look like LTE will be playing catch up for years to come, and may never actually catch up.
@Nanosman1994 Yeah, bring back trench coat guy! The Can You Hear Me Now guy needs company.
The two most inexpensive carriers join forces.
Badass.
@SolidSnake
Huge fan of tmobile (largely because I get no dropped calls and 3MB/s) - not such a big fan of sprint. I left sprint to go to tmobile :D
As long as they keep the speed, sim cards and the ability to drop a sim into a cheap pay-as-you-go phone (for when your phone is broken), I'll be ok with it.
@SolidSnake
Less competition can only result in higher prices, hell these guys are all practically in collusion as it is.
@wraith404
Yes, you're exactly correct. Having only 3 national carriers probably will not be good for consumers, especially when the two cheapest are joining forces.
Yep. Basically all of the ghetto cellular carriers (Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile) will be one entity. The only ones missing are US Cellular, MetroPCS and Cricket.
The new large entity will be overly bureaucratic and will have to raise prices to be Verizon and AT&T's levels. Except that the new entity will not be able to compete with Verizon (quality) or AT&T (iPhone exclusivity).
@SolidSnake
The Two cheapest carriers merge to survive.
Yeah, this has really bad idea written all over it.
Ask the around 3.2 Million Nextel customers just in the Northeast region that bailed on Sprextel.