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
@rjharlan
Sprint's credit standards have fallen. Dramatically.
Do we get Catherine Zeta Jones in the deal? And if so, can we get "Entrapment"-era Catherine Zeta Jones?
Oh great, more consolidation in the US cell phone business.
That's going to be great for customers!
:rolleyes:
Merge, roll out LTE, get the iPhone on top of your existing awesome Android line-ups, win.
This would suck. It would take the players from 4 to 3. I don't see this beneficial to the consumer at all.
I'm so confused.
I left Sprint for T-Mobile after Sprint charged me $100 for data I didn't use two months in a row. I payed them the money for the data and transfered my number to T-Mobile and haven't looked back. They called me a week after the transfer trying to figure out what happened and offered to credit my account for the charges while telling me that I should have called to complain. I told her that I did and was told the charges were valid. Then they tried to get a cancellation fee out of me. I told them to take it out of the $200 I payed for no reason. Eventually we came to an understanding and I payed $50 to cancel. I have been told that unless I pay the remainder of the cancellation fee, I will be unable to sign up for Sprint service again. Like I'd want to.
F' em. Stay as far away from Sprint as possible, T-Mobile.
@Maverick128 u clearly used data...and if u didnt u woulnt get billed....come on now...
@Maverick128 u clearly used data...and if u didnt u woulnt get billed....come on now...
@gutt3
I had an LG Rumor that I didn't even use for texting. It was free and I needed a phone. Unless there is some automatic "feature" on that phone they weren't telling me about, no, I did not use data.
Alright, maybe I'm a bit confused. Why would T-Mobile go to LTE? What about their HSPA+ network and it's max of 21Mbps? Is LTE supposed to be faster? Or are they even any different?
As far as the companies go, T-Mobile's customer service is unmatched and I'd hate to see anything damage that. I'd rather see T-Mo go it alone and get their $#@! straight, network-wise.
@JaylanPHNX HSPA+ is great but LTE is better in terms of speed and future proof-ness. If they do change to LTE (which they likely will) then they'll probably be able to do it fast. Look at their 3G network. They built it from scratch and upgraded the whole thing 3 times (with a fourth currently rolling out) in what, 3 years?
hesse is just a liar, next we will get a 20 service fee on top of the 10 extra
Quadopoly turning into triopoly? Doesn't sound good, but this is a wake up call for wimax "4G" and CDMA fanboys, that you are on a dead end.
I've been expecting this for about a year now. It will happen, and their combination will definitely put fear in Verizon and ATT. There are already a few dual cdma/gsm phoens, maybe they'll make some more for this megacarrier.
@deedeedee
GTFO OF MY LABORATORY!
That's kind dumb if Sprint and T-Mobile merge? They both have different networks. T-Mobile is GSM and Sprint is CDMA. It's like Sprint merging with Verizon and AT&T Merging with T-Mobile. And T-Mobile is right their technology is different NOT COMPATIBLE with each other.
@Inspector Gadget80 "if they go to LTE"
Just like AT&T (GSM) and Verizon (CDMA) are doing. It ensures backwards compatibility (at least for GSM), future readiness and much higher data speeds.
I got bored so I cooked this up in paint
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv117/xXxPathogenxXx/sprintmobile.png
If you read the article, it's the company that owns T-Mobile that's thinking about selling it off in the US. T-Mobile won't be buying anything. It would be the other way around.
@dmystic1 Yeah, it would definitely be a US carrier buying T-Mobile USA. Even Sprint makes exponentially more money than them.
@cloud858rk
T-mobile USA is in way better financial condition than Sprint. It would be better for T-Mo to wait out for another spectrum auction to purchase more blocks and should continue with their HSPA+ roll out/upgrade. Sprint/Nextel is a sinking ship and will probably go bankrupt in a few years and rebrand themselves.
@Rainforrest What the fuck are you talking about?
@cloud858rk However, it might be a good move for Deutsch Telekom to buy Sprint and combine them instead of selling T-Mob US. Or maybe a similar deal to Orange and T-Mobile UK's agreement, just sharing networks on LTE.
It shall be called T-Sprint Mobile
@Booksmart Devil Nice...
Now where's your streetwise angel?
The title of this article said is all. Sprint's Hesse: there's 'logic' to a T-Mobile merger -- if they both move to LTE
That proves to me that it is a WAY BAD IDEA! Dan Hesse doesnt know what logic is.
@dgskydive
You are pretty ignorant, its like as if you did not even read the article.
Oh God. First I joined Helio. Then Helio got bought out by Virgin Mobile, effectively making me a Virgin customer. THEN Virgin Mobile got bought out by Sprint, effectively making me a Sprint customer. Now this? TELL ME WHEN THE RABBIT HOLE ENDS.
@imbalanced your avatar goes well with the nature of your comment.
CDMA and GSM I just dont see how they can coexist as the same carrier
@Hydra
They can't. If Sprint CDMA and Nextel iDEN can't coexist under the same company umbrella, what makes Mr. Hesse any more confident that CDMA and GSM would coexist well? Mr. Hesse has proven that he's an idiot at best. There is reason why SprintNextel's stock price has gone from $14/share when he took over to under $5/share today.
@ashwinkn
Actually, it's not that Verizon and Sprint disabled it so much as the networks they did upgrade to were not capable of it. Qualcomm offered both networks to operate either as EVDO or EVDV. EVDO was cheaper to build out, but EVDV allowed users to simultaneously talk and consume data, AND had faster data speed to boot. Guess which version both of those chose? Yup...EVDO instead.
See http://www.engadget.com/2005/03/06/ev-do-pretty-much-kills-ev-dv/
@emaildejan
Neither voice network would be shut down. At this point, GSM *and* CDMA2000 voice networks are "legacy", and both networks have plenty of bandwidth to handle their voice needs as-is without shuffling anyone around. Nor is there any need to pull a Verizon and force everyone to buy octo-mode phones that can do everything everywhere. As a customer, you'd basically fall into one of four groups, depending on your personal priorities:
1. A phone that's basically an Evo -- CDMA2000 for voice, WiMax for data, with fallback to EVDO and 1xRTT.
2. A phone that's basically a "GSM Evo" -- 1900MHz GSM for voice, WiMax for data, with fallback to 1700/2100 UMTS and 1900MHz EDGE.
3. A phone that's a hardcore "World-Standard" GSM phone that only does 1900/2100UMTS. Bend over and pull out the lube, because the $25/month "Premium Spectrum Surcharge" is gonna cost you. But hey, at least you can buy any random phone from Asia or Europe and use it in the US. If you can afford a $900 phone insurance won't cover, the $25 surcharge won't kill you either.
4. Same as 3 (world-standard GSM), possibly with tacked-on WiMax subsystem for data. If you can live with being unable to use 1900/2100UMTS (GSM voice, EDGE or WiMax data ONLY) they'll waive the $25 premium spectrum fee and let you off with the $10 premium data fee instead.
4a. CDMA2000 voice, 1900/2100UMTS data, possibly with WiMax tacked on. SprinT-Mobile doesn't sell these phones, but if you're Canadian and have one from Telus, it'll work fine. It'll cost you $10/month extra if the phone has WiMax and you opt out of premium-spectrum UMTS, or $25/month extra otherwise (since your only data option will BE 1900/2100 UMTS).
Notice I mentioned compatibility with 1900/2100 UMTS. Right now, T-Mobile can't do it, because they don't own enough 1900MHz spectrum needed for the UMTS uplinks -- it would literally consume their entire 1900MHz allocation. Sprint can't do it, because they don't own any 2100MHz spectrum for the UMTS downlinks. Together, they could repurpose a relatively small block of Sprint's 1900MHz spectrum in most markets, and become the instant de-facto roaming partner of every mobile network on Earth. At super-premium roaming charges, of course. If your phone can do 1700/2100UMTS, 1900MHz EVDO, or WiMax, roaming is substantially cheaper.
how about some phones that can work on both T-mobile GSM and sprint CDMA network?
@htd Blackberry Storm and Tour sir!
Maybe it could be called NexSprinT-Mobile or SprintNexT-Mobile
Or just SNT-Mobile or ST-Mobile anyone check some of those names (domain names? hmmmm)
Whoever says Dan Hesse is crazy is wrong.
1. He is the CEO I can guarantee he knows more about his company then all of you do.
2. It may raise prices, but I doubt it by doing that they would be just as expensive as AT&T and Sprint is against that in a business Point of View.
3. Everyone loves Android, Sprint has awesome Android Phones, and a lot of T Mobiles smartphones are Android.
4. Combining them would be mean you get tons of customers. Which would make the competition between the 3 major carriers even more intense.
The answer to my prayers! A merger with these two companies would be a phenomenal break-through for customers. That means service worldwide for travelers--most likely better coverage areas! These two new technologies side bye side would do wonders for competition between Big Yellow, Red, and Blue. Imagine having a GREAT selection of devices to choose from along with competitively priced subscription pricing! I am ALL FOR a merger!
Sprint has been on a deathwatch for years now (remarkable!). The Nextel aquisition was just more nails in the coffin. Deutche Telecom grossly overpaid for the aquisitions that we now know and love as TMO in the US and will possibly never climb out of the deep, deep hole they find themselves in, in NA.
Talk about two weak sisters going to the dance!
Trust me...it will never happen...but then again...never say never...
No no no no no fuck mergers. Competition is the reason why prices are low on T-Mobile and Sprint. It's because they're trying to beat keep up with Verizon and AT&T. I don't want a merger. Then prices sky rocket.
We are all spazzing over a rumor
Precisely:
1) Speculation, Rumor, etc.
2) Ask most phone enthusiasts who've had GSM or CDMA and they'll side with their network. Ask experts, and they'll lean toward GSM for their SIM cards and worldwide use. WiMAX and LTE is not necessarily a Format War, they can co-exist. Particularly if Sprint has less subscribers overall than AT&T/Verizon/Regional-carrier-alphabet-soup does with LTE, the more bandwidth available for clients.
3) Prices for the 4G networks initially will be ridiculous even if Sprint and T-Mobile do not merge. Remember the first adopter rule: if you have to get it now, you'll pay for it somehow -- money, time lost later, technical problems, etc. The prices normalize when the provider shuts down the old network (GSM/CDMA) and gets the diehards one last chance to upgrade, or die. Even with this, we're talking YEARS down the line, not tomorrow, not next year, not even 2012.
4) Nature abhors a vacuum. Vodaphone has a stake in Verizon, either they could spin-off into a company of their own here, or Orange could make the leap (since AT&T has fully embraced becoming "big blue" now) to the states. Or another carrier could break regional/international boundaries and take a crack at being #4. Even if Sprint merges with T-Mobile, they're not going to become a superpower with low subscriber counts on either camp. It will still be the same on both sides.
5) Yeah, if it does happen, T-Mobile, expect GSM to be ignored/shut off as quietly as possible. Ask a (former) Nextel user why Sprint's merger was the worst thing to happen to them.
Who is "ft" federal trade? and umm they didn't reject sprint and nextel and they don't. Have same network tech so what's the difference?
The way I see it- sprint and verizon need to merge! And AT&T and tmobile - it only makes sense this way !
Not looking forward to even fewer competitors in the US market, all of which have incompatible bands and technologies. Talk about lock-in.
Everything Everywhere US
To the Sprintmobile!
*shrugs* This has nothing to do with me really.