Sprint and T-Mobile Agree to Merge, in Bid to Remake Wireless Market
Last edited Sun Apr 29, 2018, 01:04 PM - Edit history (2)
Source: New York Times
Sprint and T-Mobile announced on Sunday that they had reached a deal to merge, moving to create a new telecommunications giant -- and betting that regulators would finally allow the American wireless service market to shrink to just three national players.
The new company, which would keep the T-Mobile name, would have nearly 100 million retail subscribers. That would give the combined businesses serious heft in a fight against Verizon and AT&T, the two industry leaders that currently control a majority of the American wireless market.
Sprint and T-Mobile have tried repeatedly to merge, arguing that combining is the only way they can compete. Their previous two attempts, though, have failed: in 2014 because of opposition from regulators in the Barack Obama administration, and last year because of disagreements over control of the unified company.
The question this time is whether Washington regulators, even under a Trump administration that has sometimes looked more favorably on mergers, will allow one of the most transformative consolidation effort in years to take place.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/business/dealbook/sprint-tmobile-deal.html
What is this, like the 3rd time?
Original WaPo article (replaced it with the NYT article above instead that was updated) -
by Washington Post Staff April 29 at 12:22 PM
The deal would marry the nation's third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers, respectively. The two firms have held unsuccessful merger talks over the years, with the most recent attempt taking place last fall.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/29/t-mobile-and-sprint-announce-plans-to-merge/?utm_term.aa3a83fbf81e
UPDATED WaPo article (finally) -
T-Mobile and Sprint, the nation’s third and fourth largest wireless carriers, announced a roughly $26 billion merger on Sunday that could dramatically reshape the U.S. telecom industry while testing the appetites of consumers and regulators alike for further corporate consolidation.
The deal marks the latest attempt by T-Mobile, operated by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, and Sprint, run by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, to combine forces as they seek to amass subscribers and challenge the national footprints of AT&T and Verizon, particularly at a time when the industry is racing to deploy the next generation of ultra-fast wireless technology, called 5G.
T-Mobile and Sprint have sought such a tie-up in the past, and much as before, they could face tough regulatory scrutiny in Washington. Federal officials have repeatedly signaled that they believe that consumers are best served when there are at least four national wireless providers competing against one another, not three.
This time, though, executives for Sprint and T-Mobile aim to convince regulators in the Trump administration that offering 5G wireless service around the country -- a network for everything from smartphones to internet-enabled cars and other technologies -- will require more resources than either of them could sustain individually.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/04/29/t-mobile-and-sprint-announce-plans-to-merge/?utm_term=.3057776d2ecd
= new reply since forum marked as read
and in some circumstances, one or the other ends up having to pay a "breakup fee" if it doesn't go through.
repeal the Sherman Antitrust Act
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sherman_antitrust_act
and then lets throw in
ol·i·gar·chy
ˈäləˌɡärkē/Submit
noun
a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.
"the ruling oligarchy of military men around the president"
a country governed by an oligarchy.
"the English aristocratic oligarchy of the 19th century"
government by oligarchy.
Then we can have just like the airlines, four major ones...............fixing the price...................
And to add further insult.............Korea, for example pays for the 5g service for the citizens of there country................you think they, the poor in this country is going to able to subsidize this "merger".................I got a bridge................
