T-Mobile Doesn’t Seem To Be Interested In Being Taken Over By Sprint

Late last year rumors started circulating that Sprint, owned by Softbank, was interested in acquiring T-Mobile. The former is currently the third largest mobile carrier in the U.S., and even if it did end up acquiring T-Mobile, it still won’t be as big as Verizon or AT&T, but it would have a better chance of competing at a wider scale. Sprint wasn’t T-Mobile’s first suitor, Magenta accepted AT&T’s $39 billion takeover bid back in 2011 though it fell through due to regulatory concerns. Last year T-Mobile made a few bold moves, positioning itself as a bonafide player in the industry, and it seems to want to continue that momentum independently.

During a press conference yesterday, T-Mobile CEO John Legere laid down the law, saying that the “T-Mobile brand and people will stay.” According to him, all of the rumors are about spectrum, Sprint would certainly get its hands on a lot if it were to acquire T-Mobile, but Legere says T-Mobile will continue to pursue purchase of even more spectrum. Earlier this week it finally announced its much rumored spectrum swap deal with Verizon, getting its hands on lower frequency spectrum that was collecting dust over at Big Red. The CEO believes that this particular U.S. industry “needs a change agent,” and that there’s potential for T-Mobile as an independent carrier. The carrier certainly has made a few changes, it did away with conventional service contracts, offers free global 2G data roaming and will now pay your early termination fees if you decide to switch over from your current carrier to T-Mobile.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: Sprint, T-Mobile