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T-Mobile and Sprint Ask For Merger Approval (axios.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the behind-the-scenes dept.

According to documents filed Monday, T-Mobile and Sprint have formally asked the FCC to approve their proposed merger. Axios reports: In their filing, the companies said that the deal would "generate substantial public interest benefits for the customers of T-Mobile and Sprint and for U.S. wireless customers as a whole, and do not give rise to any competitive harms." "The merger unlocks the door to new broadband choices and capabilities for consumers across the country while accelerating the arrival of transformative 5G services that will produce innovation, jobs, and economic growth for our country," the companies said. Basically, the two companies have to prove to the FCC that the deal benefits consumers, and avoid antitrust concerns currently being investigated by the Department of Justice.

16 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. They omitted .... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... "It's good for children."

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    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:They omitted .... by Tablizer · · Score: 1, Funny

      ... "It's good for children."

      such as the Toddler in Chief.

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      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:They omitted .... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      "Republican" is not spelled, "tmobile."

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      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  2. Weeeiiirrrddd. by RickyShade · · Score: 1

    There is just something that sounds REALLY weird about T-Mobile and Sprint joining forces. Sprint wants that GSM network, huh.

    1. Re:Weeeiiirrrddd. by Solandri · · Score: 1
      Sprint already bought and merged with Nextel years ago. Nextel used iDEN - the only other major network type which used TDMA like GSM.

      At this point in time, there's very little difference between GSM and CDMA networks.
      • The only major difference is in how voice is handled. GSM uses TDMA, CDMA use CDMA.
      • Both GSM and CDMA use CDMA for 3G data (GSM uses wideband CDMA).
      • Both GSM and CDMA uses LTE for 4G data. LTE is predominantly OFDMA, though a few bands are dynamically assigned TDMA (including one of Sprint's LTE bands)
      • Both GSM and CDMA use SIM cards, since they're required for LTE. The CDMA networks just don't use them for non-LTE functions.
  3. I'll put two bucks on... by sillivalley · · Score: 2

    ...the merger being blocked (or at least impeded) by AT&T

    Maybe not in a manner easily traced back to AT&T, but isn't that what friends are for?

  4. If by Children by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    you mean the children of the politicians they bribed to get this approved I can't argue.

    Seriously, we need to get people to stop voting for any politician who accepts money from corporations and/or PACs. It should be a litmus test. Why the hell would you vote for somebody who admits to bribes?

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    1. Re:If by Children by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Bribes are as common as privacy loss.

      We don't really give a shit.

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      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  5. I have a better idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Every state must have at least 3 independent suppliers. Barring that, the top providers are barred from entering the market.

    You can merge all you want so long as customers have a reasonable option to use a competitor

  6. What does T-Mobile get out of this? by SmaryJerry · · Score: 1, Insightful

    They get a horrible brand name, horrible network, terrible spectrum on a different frequency with less propagation and less building penetration that Sprint's lease of will expire in 10 years or so. I guess as long as they dissolve sprint completely and just take their subscribers it might not be horrible.

    1. Re:What does T-Mobile get out of this? by SmaryJerry · · Score: 1

      Forgot to mention a large amount of high interest rate debt.

    2. Re:What does T-Mobile get out of this? by Mr.Radar · · Score: 1

      160 MHz of band 41 (2.5 GHz) spectrum is a 5G goldmine. Most 5G will be deployed in the mm-wave bands above 6 GHz which will have absolutely minuscule building penetration even compared to band 41. Sprint's band 26 (800 MHz) spectrum will also be useful in areas where T-Mobile doesn't have band 12 (700 MHz) licenses before handsets with band 71 (600 MHz) become common. Sprint's spectrum isn't necessarily terrible, it's just very lopsided towards high-band (which is great for throughput but pretty bad for coverage) and Sprint has not done a good job of managing it (partly due to lack of capital to invest in their network and partly due to incompetence).

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  7. There can be only one. by EnsilZah · · Score: 1

    Highlander was a cautionary tale about the corporate ecosystem.

  8. Oligopolies by sjbe · · Score: 1

    You can merge all you want so long as customers have a reasonable option to use a competitor

    A reasonable perspective though remember that oligopolies are a thing and can be just as bad as a monopoly. It's not clear that going from 4 major wireless providers to 3 provides any benefit to consumers but it's pretty obvious how it might hurt them.

    In some cases a monopoly is actually the most economically efficient. Having multiple companies run power lines to your house is actually more expensive than having a single well regulated monopoly for example. Same with water lines and other utilities. Typically these are natural monopolies. But these sorts of situations are exceptions and don't seem applicable for wireless services if they are being properly regulated.

  9. Re:So what changed since 2015? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    In 2015 it was Sprint buying T-Mobile.

    In 2018 it's T-Mobile buying Sprint.

    T-Mobile has been making significant strides in customer recruiting and retention, and passed Sprint in total customers in August, 2015 - it's a much more healthy company since 2011.

  10. Re: So what changed since 2015? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    > "Oh right, people that are far easier to bribe are now in office."

    It's almost as if you haven't been paying attention.