Sprint, T-Mobile Rumored To Be In Final Stages Of Merger Deal... Yet Again

SoftBank which controls 80% of Sprint is expressing optimism about the prospect for mergers in the U.S. wireless carrier industry under President Trump.

The Obama administration was "quite tough on business," SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been quoted saying. But now the "door is open" for potential deals he added.

Masayoshi Son failed in an attempt to merge Sprint with T-Mobile back in 2014 after the plan ran into regulatory hurdles. SoftBank paid $20.1 billion October 14th 2012 taking 70% control, on August 6th 2013 Softbank purchased another 2% raising their stakes to 80% ownership of Sprint and has struggled to turn the U.S. carrier around since.

Now, Masayoshi Son is ready to try again saying that while he is open to other options, T-Mobile remains his "first priority" for a merger with Sprint. T-Mobile CEO John Legere said earlier this year that the company was open to "various forms of consolidation."


Source: The Phone Ninja

Sprint... The Exclusive Wireless Carrier Of The Essential Phone

Andy Rubin’s new company Essential officially announced its first smartphone. The Essential Phone, and while the company was quick to point out that the handset is unlocked and that it will work on all four of the major wireless carriers in the United States there were still questions regarding an actual carrier launch.

As it turns out that the Essential Phone will have an exclusive carrier. Essential president Niccolo De Masi informed USA Today that Sprint will be the exclusive wireless carrier to host the Essential Phone. According to Masi Sprint is the “network of the future,” and that’s why the company chose to partner up with the Now Network.

It’s worth noting that Andy Rubin is a friend of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and that SoftBank owns 83% of Sprint itself so maybe the partnership isn’t all that surprising.

Sprint will carry the Essential Phone in its retail stores, the device itself won’t host any Sprint branding while the phone does work with all the carriers this gives Essential some marketing in United States outside of the traditional advertisements the company will be running.

Did you already reserve your Essential Phone?

Sprint, T-Mobile Rumored To Be Discussing Merger Details... Again

SoftBank which controls 80% of Sprint is expressing optimism about the prospect for mergers in the U.S. wireless carrier industry under President Trump.

The Obama administration was "quite tough on business," SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said Wednesday. But now the "door is open" for potential deals he added.

Masayoshi Son failed in an attempt to merge Sprint with T-Mobile back in 2014 after the plan ran into regulatory hurdles. SoftBank paid $20.1 billion October 14th 2012 taking 70% control, on August 6th 2013 Softbank purchased another 2% raising their stakes to 80% ownership of Sprint and has struggled to turn the U.S. carrier around since.

Now, Masayoshi Son is ready to try again saying that while he is open to other options, T-Mobile remains his "first priority" for a merger with Sprint. T-Mobile CEO John Legere said earlier this year that the company was open to "various forms of consolidation."


Source: CNN Money

Dish Is Ready To Bid On T-Mobile

Dish Network Chairman Charles Ergen wants Dish to become a wireless carrier. Ergen was shot down twice when Dish was outbid by SoftBank for Sprint, and outbid by Sprint for Clearwire. Ergen also put in a bid for bankrupt third party network provider LightSquared only to see another party interfere yet again.

Earlier this year Dish finally won an auction for H-Block spectrum for $1.56 billion. Which made Dish the fifth largest holder of spectrum. Ergen has said he would let Sprint bid on T-Mobile. If Sprint's attempt to buy T-Mobile fails Dish will step in to buy the fourth largest U.S. carrier. Ergen says that Dish doesn't have cash flow to outbid Sprint for T-Mobile, Ergen would rather sit on the sidelines to see how a Sprint T-Mobile deal pans out. 

Earlier visits to the FCC and FTC by Sprint chairman Masayoshi Son, and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, went poorly for the nation's third largest carrier, which doesn't look good for a Sprint T-Mobile deal. However, regulators like the possibility of Dish becoming the fifth largest wireless carrier in the U.S. 

The FCC has already approved Dish's request to use some of its recently purchased H-Block spectrum for satellite transmissions, as a conduit for cellular calls and data.

Source: Bloomberg

Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son Confirms Interest In Buying T-Mobile

There have been rumors circulating for months regarding Sprint's interested in buying T-Mobile but nothing much has come of it. Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son has admitted that the company is interested in purchasing the T-Mobile. The statement came in a TV interview between Son and Charlie Rose.

Son said "We would like to make the deal happen, but there are steps and details that we have to work out." He went on to explain how the deal would allow the number three and number four major wireless carriers in the U.S. to come together and finally be a true competitor to Verizon and AT&T. However, the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have made it clear that such a deal would face quite a bit of regulatory scrutiny. 

Son believes it will allow Sprint to be competitive with Verizon and AT&T, but regulatory bodies would worry that having only 3 carriers of roughly the same size would decrease competition and hurt consumers. This is a reasonable worry especially after seeing the commotion T-Mobile has been making with its UNcarrier plans and how those changes have led to price wars throughout the industry. But, Son says that the deal would allow Sprint to push a faster network more aggressively and offer better prices to compete with the big two. 

Source: Wall Street Journal

Sprint Chairman Said To Meet With FCC Chief, Possible T-Mobile Deal

SoftBank CEO and Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son is meeting with the head of the Federal Communications Commission today in an attempt to convince the regulatory body that combining Sprint and T-Mobile would be good for the wireless industry. Last week, officials at the U.S. Department of Justice indicated to Son and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse that the agency would not look favorably on such a merger and it would face heavy scrutiny. Son is already holding high-level talks with Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company. The companies have not publicly announced plans to merge and are still hashing out details, such as a potential break-up fee, which management team would lead moving forward, and which brand would be preserved. Son intends to argue to the FCC that a combined T-Mobile/Sprint would be a stronger competitor to market leaders AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse will also attend the meeting.


Source: WSJ