3 ms·

I see this opinion a lot. I guess the argument is that we are going from 4 cell providers to 3, but realistically Sprint and TMobile were so minor we are probab

by mvid 7y ago

I see this opinion a lot. I guess the argument is that we are going from 4 cell providers to 3, but realistically Sprint and TMobile were so minor we are probably going from 2 providers to 3

ocdtrekkie 7y ago
This. Neither T-Mobile or Sprint ever rank as legitimate carriers for most cases. Find me a enterprise business that equips their employees with either. Pretty much all corporate and government wireless is AT&T or Verizon. T-Mobile + Sprint provides the best opportunity to create a legitimate third carrier.
- _jal 7y ago
  I'll become interested in the kabuki once there is any indication of an actual increase in competitive pressure on ATT or Verizon, of which there is currently close to zero. But I'm betting there won't be. (Literally.)
- fragmede 7y ago
  I'm not sure about "either", but Google-Fi is both - ie service from both Sprint+T-Mobile on one device. Unfortunately, given the shutdown plans for the Sprint side of the combined network, I'm not convinced (though remain hopeful) that this will be competition to AT&T and Verizon.
  - ocdtrekkie 7y ago
    Presumably the fact that Fi is consider a decent enough cell network suggests this merger will succeed at its goals. I wouldn't expect T-Mobile to shut down Sprint's network without adequately replacing it. The merge plan probably includes shutting down 'extra' towers that are adequately covered by the other network, but probably retaining and upgrading any towers with coverage unique to only one network.
  - MrRadar 7y ago
    T-Mobile's coverage area almost completely encompasses the coverage provided by Sprint and also covers a lot of areas Sprint does not. This merger also makes T-Mobile by far the largest owner of sub-6 GHz cellular spectrum in the US. As long as they invest wisely they should have no trouble building a network fully competitive with AT&T and Verizon.
- icelancer 7y ago
  T-Mobile is fairly popular in the SMB space and with companies that are "large-ish" with 500-750 employees. They are competitive there. Though mostly I agree it's Verizon / AT&T in the large corp space. Should be interesting to see if this merger can penetrate the corporate ranks. My guess is probably not, but TMO/Sprint will continue to win marketshare at the consumer/individual level.

by mvid 7y ago

I see this opinion a lot. I guess the argument is that we are going from 4 cell providers to 3, but realistically Sprint and TMobile were so minor we are probably going from 2 providers to 3

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

This. Neither T-Mobile or Sprint ever rank as legitimate carriers for most cases. Find me a enterprise business that equips their employees with either. Pretty much all corporate and government wireless is AT&T or Verizon. T-Mobile + Sprint provides the best opportunity to create a legitimate third carrier.

_jal 7y ago
I'll become interested in the kabuki once there is any indication of an actual increase in competitive pressure on ATT or Verizon, of which there is currently close to zero. But I'm betting there won't be. (Literally.)
fragmede 7y ago
I'm not sure about "either", but Google-Fi is both - ie service from both Sprint+T-Mobile on one device. Unfortunately, given the shutdown plans for the Sprint side of the combined network, I'm not convinced (though remain hopeful) that this will be competition to AT&T and Verizon.
- ocdtrekkie 7y ago
  Presumably the fact that Fi is consider a decent enough cell network suggests this merger will succeed at its goals. I wouldn't expect T-Mobile to shut down Sprint's network without adequately replacing it. The merge plan probably includes shutting down 'extra' towers that are adequately covered by the other network, but probably retaining and upgrading any towers with coverage unique to only one network.
- MrRadar 7y ago
  T-Mobile's coverage area almost completely encompasses the coverage provided by Sprint and also covers a lot of areas Sprint does not. This merger also makes T-Mobile by far the largest owner of sub-6 GHz cellular spectrum in the US. As long as they invest wisely they should have no trouble building a network fully competitive with AT&T and Verizon.
icelancer 7y ago
T-Mobile is fairly popular in the SMB space and with companies that are "large-ish" with 500-750 employees. They are competitive there. Though mostly I agree it's Verizon / AT&T in the large corp space. Should be interesting to see if this merger can penetrate the corporate ranks. My guess is probably not, but TMO/Sprint will continue to win marketshare at the consumer/individual level.