Softbank - New Sprint - Discussion

[mozamcrew]

Didn't know that. I wonder why sprint hasn't try and bought them

They are privately owned and they haven't been interested in selling.

[bigsnake49]

They are privately owned and they haven't been interested in selling.

 

 

I don't get why everyone thinks they will divest the EBS spectrum. The CEO of Softbank has been Clear how important that band 41 is for him, both because of its urban capacity advantages and because it's a common band between Softbank and Sprint plus the Chinese carriers (and potentially those using the global band 38 as well). Also, doing so won't win them any points with the FCC since it was never counted against them in the spectrum screen. They aren't giving up their 800 Mhz spectrum either (or any of the 700Mhz spectrum TMoblie bought) for obvious reasons.  Mark my words, they will end up divesting some combination AWS and PCS spectrum.

 

Again, they will have plenty of BRS spectrum. They will have plenty of AWS and PCS, enough for a long time. They will not have enough lower MHz spectrum.

[WiWavelength]

They are privately owned and they haven't been interested in selling.

 

I do not recall all of the specifics, but USCC is not privately owned.  It is a subsidiary of TDS -- a publicly traded corporation.  And I believe the founding family still holds a supermajority share in all of the above.  So, it largely controls what happens to TDS and USCC.

 

AJ

[bigsnake49]

They are privately owned and they haven't been interested in selling.

 

They have been losing customers for a little while. They might want to sell while the selling is good!

[mozamcrew]

I do not recall all of the specifics, but USCC is not privately owned.  It is a subsidiary of TDS -- a publicly traded corporation.  And I believe the founding family still holds a supermajority share in all of the above.  So, it largely controls what happens to TDS and USCC.

 

AJ

This is what I mean, the Carlson Family that owns most of it hasn't been interested in selling in the past. Maybe they will change their mind?

[Rawvega]

Didn't know that. I wonder why sprint hasn't try and bought them

 

Because they're too busy allegedly messing around with T-Mobile in what hopefully won't turn out to be a fool's errand.

[WiWavelength]

Because they're too busy allegedly messing around with T-Mobile in what hopefully won't turn out to be a fool's errand.

 

I love the "fool's errand" turn of phrase.  I have not heard that in a while.

 

Whether or not the T-Mobile acquisition happens, I do not think that it will turn out to be a fool's errand, though.  Now, the magenta lovers think that their Sonny Crockett CEO will be able to swindle SoftBank-Sprint out of another big cash and spectrum breakup fee.  But that is not going to happen again.

 

AJ

[mozamcrew]

I love the "fool's errand" turn of phrase.  I have not heard that in a while.

 

Whether or not the T-Mobile acquisition happens, I do not think that it will turn out to be a fool's errand, though.  Now, the magenta lovers think that their Sonny Crockett CEO will be able to swindle SoftBank-Sprint out of another big cash and spectrum breakup fee.  But that is not going to happen again.

 

AJ

I certainly hope not! Sprint doesn't have the cash/spectrum to just give out like ATT.

[bigsnake49]

This is what I mean, the Carlson Family that owns most of it hasn't been interested in selling in the past. Maybe they will change their mind?

 

Oh way back in early 2000's they were very interested in a three way merger between Sprint, Alltel and USCC. From what my sources in the investment banking community told me, the discussions were very advanced. Forsee got cold feet and the Carlson family never forgave him and Sprint. I was very pro this particular merger at that time. 

Edited January 18, 2014 by bigsnake49

[hescominsoon]

I could never understand the rational of the GSM fanboys. They seem to forget that CDMA is in use in multiple countries also. Either way the point is moot. The future standard is VOLTE. To spend billions just to acquire a technology that you are going to sunset in a few years does not make sense.

i'm no fanboy.  If i was wrong then i'm wrong..but i'm not a fanboy of any technology.  I made a guess and it seems i'm off-base..sorry..  Right now i wouldn't buy tmob because they have zero coverage in my area.  I can go with vz, sprint, or att..

[Rawvega]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-18/softbank-said-to-seek-sprint-t-mobile-deal-with-finances-assured.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

 

Combining Sprint and T-Mobile would give each company a better chance of long-term success against AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. Sprint’s management isn’t controlling deal talks and knows Son will make the decision on whether or not to push ahead with a deal, another person said. Sprint Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse knew Son wanted to acquire T-Mobile when he agreed to sell SoftBank the majority of the company, the person said.

 

Well, that's interesting. I guess to make themselves feel better, the pink fanboys are now painting these merger rumors as a sign of desperation from Sprint. However, if this source is to be believed then that isn't the case at all; it simply seems like the continuation of a calculated plan by Son. The Sprint-SoftBank deal was announced in October 2012 and T-Mobile was still losing subscribers. Meanwhile, T-Mobile's first Uncarrier sleight of hand wasn't introduced until the end of March 2013.

[Johnner1999]

Well wasn't tmo Son's back up plan?

 

I'd assume he only wants tmo for the sub's and now for its uncarrier good will.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

[bigsnake49]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-18/softbank-said-to-seek-sprint-t-mobile-deal-with-finances-assured.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

 

Well, that's interesting. I guess to make themselves feel better, the pink fanboys are now painting these merger rumors as a sign of desperation from Sprint. However, if this source is to be believed then that isn't the case at all; it simply seems like the continuation of a calculated plan by Son. The Sprint-SoftBank deal was announced in October 2012 and T-Mobile was still losing subscribers. Meanwhile, T-Mobile's first Uncarrier sleight of hand wasn't introduced until the end of March 2013.

 

Sprint and T-mobile have been talking about a merger since at least 2011 way before Softbank was even in the pic. Between T-Mobile using desperate measures to aquire subs and the fact that their stock has gone up 28%, this is going to be an expensive buyout for Softbank. 

Edited January 18, 2014 by bigsnake49

[RCM]

[RCM]

Looks like Plankton failed again

[centermedic]

i'm no fanboy.  If i was wrong then i'm wrong..but i'm not a fanboy of any technology.  I made a guess and it seems i'm off-base..sorry..  Right now i wouldn't buy tmob because they have zero coverage in my area.  I can go with vz, sprint, or att..

I apologize for making an assumption. Its just that the true GSM fanboys always use the line about GSM being the world standard.

[coorsleftfield]

I apologize for making an assumption. Its just that the true GSM fanboys always use the line about GSM being the world standard.

Is gsm the world standard or is there cdma in wide use as well?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

 

[david279]

Cdma is used in Korea and Japan I believe

 

Sent from my One using Tapatalk

 

 

[centermedic]

Is gsm the world standard or is there cdma in wide use as well?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CDMA2000_networks

[coorsleftfield]

So I'm traveling to a lot of these countries this summer on vacation. Should I bring a CDMA or GSM phone with me ?

[SpenceSouth]

So I'm traveling to a lot of these countries this summer on vacation. Should I bring a CDMA or GSM phone with me ?

GSM is the international traveling phone of choice.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[bigsnake49]

So, since Dish withdrew from the Lightsquared sweepstakes, what is their wireless play right now? If Sprint wants to merge with T-Mobile, they will need to create the illusion of a fourth competitor. So do they sell Dish, T-Mobile's network after of course they start hosting T-Mobiles frequencies on their own sites? They could start hosting Dish's frequencies on T-Mobiles's sites right away (of course it will take time) and then cut-over when the Sprint network is ready to host T-Mobiles spectrum. I believe they will need to divest spectrum and they might as well divest EBS to Dish. Sprint might get a few billion dollars out of the deal to help pay for T-Mobile.

[jamisonshaw125]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203880704578086612471992292

 

 

Just did some light reading on that article. It's an older one but pretty interesting.

[jamisonshaw125]

Should the Tmobile Sprint merger fail, would Softbank have to shove over a ton of cash to Tmobile like AT&T did....  Could give TMo the funds to possibly bring LTE and HSPA to the rest of their network? Edge areas would no longer exist? 

[S4GRU]

Should the Tmobile Sprint merger fail, would Softbank have to shove over a ton of cash to Tmobile like AT&T did....  Could give TMo the funds to possibly bring LTE and HSPA to the rest of their network? Edge areas would no longer exist? 

 

It all depends what is negotiated in the purchase agreement.  There is no requirement for break up conditions.  It's just something that companies will come up with to protect themselves should one party or the other decide to cancel.  It prevents a company from pretending to buy a competitor and then backing out just to cause them harm or get a temporary competitive advantage.

 

Robert