Softbank - New Sprint - Discussion

[JimBob]

Son/Softbank will be able to swim through a Scrooge McDuck-sized vault of money shortly after Labor Day with the Alibaba IPO.

 

http://recode.net/2014/08/27/alibaba-revenue-jumps-on-strong-china-demand/

I heard Son likes to skinny dip.

[WiWavelength]

Son/Softbank will be able to swim through a Scrooge McDuck-sized vault of money shortly after Labor Day with the Alibaba IPO.

I heard Son likes to skinny dip.

 

I would be worried about paper cuts below the equator.  But maybe Son likes the feel of the ridged coin edges.

 

AJ

[jbom]

Son/Softbank will be able to swim through a Scrooge McDuck-sized vault of money shortly after Labor Day with the Alibaba IPO.

 

http://recode.net/2014/08/27/alibaba-revenue-jumps-on-strong-china-demand/

 

You make it sound like he's going to sell his stock to prop Sprint up. He was allegedly borrowing money for the T-Mobile from banks through Sprint itself so doubtful it would just rain paper all of a sudden.

 

Then there's that whole thing about income and dividend taxes, personal exposure and that pesky corporate veil protection to worry about.

Edited August 27, 2014 by jbom

[sbolen]

You make it sound like he's going to sell his stock to prop Sprint up. He was allegedly borrowing money for the T-Mobile from banks through Sprint itself so doubtful it would just rain paper all of a sudden.

 

Then there's that whole thing about income and dividend taxes, personal exposure and that pesky corporate veil protection to worry about.

I did? For posting an article about the windfall Son & Softbank are going to reap, owning nearly 40% of Alibaba?

 

[centermedic]

You make it sound like he's going to sell his stock to prop Sprint up. He was allegedly borrowing money for the T-Mobile from banks through Sprint itself so doubtful it would just rain paper all of a sudden.

 

Then there's that whole thing about income and dividend taxes, personal exposure and that pesky corporate veil protection to worry about.

No personal exposure. Softbank owns the percentage of Alibaba, not Son. Also Sprint is not currently in need of propping up. However it might need some help completing its network build out. In either case its nice to have the choice between using your own money and financing versus being forced to finance.

[dnicekid]

Peoples opinions starting to change???

http://m.seekingalpha.com/article/2457205-should-subscribers-rethink-switching-from-sprint-to-a-competitor?source=email_rt_article_readmore&app=1&uprof=51

[cdk]

I wish I could find the specific article to quote now... Anyway I recall one of the articles published after the withdrawal of a bid on T-Mobile suggested (or even stated) that Softbank/Sprint was (or had) evaluated several possible acquistions as it was moving forward. Shortly afterward they purchased the rights to the former CelluarOne sites in Montana. So, here are some of my random and probably baseless acquistion speculations and thoughts that Softbank/Sprint might be considering.

 

FreedomPop - a Sprint MVNO that someone is showing interest in, we have seen the discussion here. It makes sense if Sprint is either trying to protect itself from potentially losing this revenue stream, or is trying to get rid of a money losing deal.

 

USCC - A favorite target of mine (and others around here). An independent USCC isn't a bad thing for Sprint, particulary if a CCA/RRRP deal is in place with them. However an AnyotherUScarrier + USCC buyout is not. The best way to prevent this is buying them... If they are willing to sell. If they where to be bought by Sprint, they bring around 5 million customers, expanded coverage, a network that could be intergrated easily, and some nice spectrum holdings.

 

nTelos - Sprint customers in nTelos land would probably rejoice if Sprint acquired them! Again their network and spectrum holdings would dovetail nicely into Sprint's. However, I think a well run nTelos could be a strong regional if it wisely partners with Sprint, T-Mobile (who also lacks coverage in much of that area), and Dish (for fixed broadband) while still retaining a core group of local subscribers.

 

C-Spire - Unless another major carrier where to go after them, I would suspect that Sprint just focus on maintaining a good working relationship with C-Spire. In many ways they serve as a model for what nTelos should be....

 

Swiftel - Please buy their cellular network. Let Swiftel offer service in their area over the Sprint network in an MVNO or Sprint retailer type relationship. Then expand the network in the Dakotas...

 

NII holdings - Why not an international play. They are in a world of hurt and might be cheap to acquire. Controlling their 800 holdings would help in expediting the rebanding process in the IBEZ. Their South American holdings could be sold in pieces or possibly used to become Softbank Brazil, Softbank Chile, etc directly under Softbank. Their Mexican holdings could be rebranded from Nextel Mexico to Sprint Mexico as a Sprint holding.

[Rawvega]

NII holdings - Why not an international play. They are in a world of hurt and might be cheap to acquire. Controlling their 800 holdings would help in expediting the rebanding process in the IBEZ. Their South American holdings could be sold in pieces or possibly used to become Softbank Brazil, Softbank Chile, etc directly under Softbank. Their Mexican holdings could be rebranded from Nextel Mexico to Sprint Mexico as a Sprint holding.

 

NII has already sold off Chile a little while back and they sold off their Peru operations last year. They still have Brazil, Argentina and Mexico left. In any event, yes they are in quite the pickle currently. That's actually kind of funny considering that for years the Nextel fans here in the US pointed to NII as the shining example of how viable iDEN was and how successful Sprint would be if they just ran Nextel US like NII. 

[Johnner1999]

NII has already sold off Chile a little while back and they sold off their Peru operations last year. They still have Brazil, Argentina and Mexico left. In any event, yes they are in quite the pickle currently. That's actually kind of funny considering that for years the Nextel fans here in the US pointed to NII as the shining example of how viable iDEN was and how successful Sprint would be if they just ran Nextel US like NII.

Yeah but Nextel has this cool feature set that includes: an amazing beep, and allows spectators to participate in both sides of a conversation ;-)

[cdk]

NII has already sold off Chile a little while back and they sold off their Peru operations last year. They still have Brazil, Argentina and Mexico left. In any event, yes they are in quite the pickle currently. That's actually kind of funny considering that for years the Nextel fans here in the US pointed to NII as the shining example of how viable iDEN was and how successful Sprint would be if they just ran Nextel US like NII. 

 

At least one of my references still listed Chile, oops.

 

Even those three remaining operations still make an interesting play for Softbank/Sprint.

[runagun]

Nii got its ass creamed when sprint shut Iden down and didn't have a decent way to replicate the beep with the US market. People didn't have a need to be paying a premium in Mexico anymore if they couldn't call US for free. Hence Nii is losing mexicans subs at a horrific rate. A glimmer of hope would be SoftBank to purchase them. But there in not to good shape until Iden gets cut off and they can focus on one network. Not sure if Son would want to go through all the headache.

[cdk]

A glimmer of hope would be SoftBank to purchase them. But there in not to good shape until Iden gets cut off and they can focus on one network. Not sure if Son would want to go through all the headache.

 

He might or might not want the headache, however it might be the quickest way in to the Latin Americas if they are interested. Plus it would help with the IBEZ situation. It certainly would be a big project!

[davidtm]

 

 

nTelos - Sprint customers in nTelos land would probably rejoice if Sprint acquired them! Again their network and spectrum holdings would dovetail nicely into Sprint's. However, I think a well run nTelos could be a strong regional if it wisely partners with Sprint, T-Mobile (who also lacks coverage in much of that area), and Dish (for fixed broadband) while still retaining a core group of local subscribers.

 

I certainly agree that a Sprint acquisition of nTelos could result some rejoicing. HOWEVER, a "well run nTelos" is, IMO, a real long-shot. It appears that they had to be strong-armed into updating to 4G long after NV got started.

[bigsnake49]

Nii got its ass creamed when sprint shut Iden down and didn't have a decent way to replicate the beep with the US market. People didn't have a need to be paying a premium in Mexico anymore if they couldn't call US for free. Hence Nii is losing mexicans subs at a horrific rate. A glimmer of hope would be SoftBank to purchase them. But there in not to good shape until Iden gets cut off and they can focus on one network. Not sure if Son would want to go through all the headache.

Mexico, Brazil and Argentina will be a nice prize. In Mexico, they won a 15x15 chunk of AWS that's screaming to have LTE put on it. What is NII's debt situation?

[bigsnake49]

Has anybody heard anything new about the 900 MHz SMR situation? I know there was a joint presentation effort by the EWA, UTC, API and Sprint to the FCC. Their 6 mos deadline for a proposal is coming up fast. The idea is to create a 3MHz LTE portion and an 2MHz LMR portion. I am assuming that Sprint will lease their spectrum to the alliance and also host it, charging them a fee for it. It might help pay for rural expansion. 3MHz is plenty for smart grid type applications. I would have preferred that Sprint trade their 900MHz SMR for 800MHz SMR so they can have a 10x10 800MHz allocation but that's just me !

Edited August 29, 2014 by bigsnake49

[runagun]

4+ billion with less then a billion cash.  Burning subs and $ like a drunken sailor.  Cant see Son making a move on NII at the moment .  Let the bankruptcy play out and if still interested pick it up for the cheap.  Would be a great play for all the Mexicans that travel in the states and in Mexico. Ex... Unlimited calling between countries, Roaming,Data. Lots of potential there.

 

Mexico, Brazil and Argentina will be a nice prize. In Mexico, they won a 15x15 chunk of AWS that's screaming to have LTE put on it. What is NII's debt situation?

[centermedic]

4+ billion with less then a billion cash.  Burning subs and $ like a drunken sailor.  Cant see Son making a move on NII at the moment .  Let the bankruptcy play out and if still interested pick it up for the cheap.  Would be a great play for all the Mexicans that travel in the states and in Mexico. Ex... Unlimited calling between countries, Roaming,Data. Lots of potential there.

Or if management is not confident in its ability to turn it around you still may be able to secure on favorable terms. I have to believe that either Big Red or the deathstar are looking into expanding to latin america. Some of the worlds biggest billionaires have been spawned from latin american telecommunications. Lots of money to be made.

[IamMrFamous07]

Just came across this quote that Masa son said in regards to a Dish partnership

 

"I'd like to partner with Dish in many possible ways," he told reporters. "We are specifically discussing all kinds of alliances and starting a test of technology. They can be our great ally."

 

http://www.lightreading.com/mobile/4g-lte/son-dish-could-be-sprints-great-ally/d/d-id/708408

 

I wonder if partnering with Dish was part of plan B.

[jonathanm1978]

This might make being a Dish customer an actual 'enjoyable' experience.

 

I mainly don't like Dish simply because I don't like Charlie Ergen. But I don't like Direct pricing either, and both of the providers have SUCKY equipment. The hopper on Dish is a joke +1. And Hopper + Sling? Don't even think about it unless you got 30meg internet...it won't work worth a sh7t. I paid $50 for that sling adapter and it's collecting dust on top of the TV cabinet, not even plugged in. First time I tried to watch a football game away from home after I bought it, I realized what a gimmicky waste of money it was, and it's been unused since.

Maybe Softbank can bring something to Dish customers that adds value to being a Sprint customer as well... a synergy of sorts...Guess it'll be years before anything actually hits the ground, but it's good to know what the future might hold. There's no hope in Charter moving from 10 minutes up the road to our neighborhood with cable/internet access, so like many, I'll be on satellite and AT&T's petty DSL for X amount of time (I keep hoping the DSLAM will fail and they'll replace with an IPDSLAM instead of the ATM that they are using now -- which would mean u-Verse speed internet versus blah-speed internet)

[kg4icg]

This might make being a Dish customer an actual 'enjoyable' experience.

 

I mainly don't like Dish simply because I don't like Charlie Ergen. But I don't like Direct pricing either, and both of the providers have SUCKY equipment. The hopper on Dish is a joke +1. And Hopper + Sling? Don't even think about it unless you got 30meg internet...it won't work worth a sh7t. I paid $50 for that sling adapter and it's collecting dust on top of the TV cabinet, not even plugged in. First time I tried to watch a football game away from home after I bought it, I realized what a gimmicky waste of money it was, and it's been unused since.

Maybe Softbank can bring something to Dish customers that adds value to being a Sprint customer as well... a synergy of sorts...Guess it'll be years before anything actually hits the ground, but it's good to know what the future might hold. There's no hope in Charter moving from 10 minutes up the road to our neighborhood with cable/internet access, so like many, I'll be on satellite and AT&T's petty DSL for X amount of time (I keep hoping the DSLAM will fail and they'll replace with an IPDSLAM instead of the ATM that they are using now -- which would mean u-Verse speed internet versus blah-speed internet)

I guess you haven't worked with a Genie receiver because I can tell you this thing is sweet. 1/3rd the size of my hr23 it replaced with a 1tb hdd unit to record shows, 2 Ethernet ports plus can hook directly up to a fios modem.

[jonathanm1978]

No, I read the spec on the Genie, but that was after I was already with Dish and didn't want to change. I saw it on a satellite forum I'm a member of long before it ever made the public eye...it looked promising, but so did Dirct's other DVR equipment. The one thing about Direct is you can watch online all you want. With dish, you don't have that option. I didn't know that when I switched...I used to watch online a lot before Dish..

[kg4icg]

I've been with DirecTV as long as I have been with Sprint, since December 1996.

[JimBob]

Have any analysts made estimates on future iPhone sales / subscriber adds per carrier? This period seems key for Sprint showing a turnaround.

[JeremiahMcCurry]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article2063795.html

 

 

Sprint told Bloomberg News Thursday it won’t take part in a federal auction of wireless spectrum set for later this year. It involves airwaves that don’t match with Sprint’s current network, though the company repeated it is interested in a different spectrum auction set for next year.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article2063795.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Expected, I think. 

[jamisonshaw125]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article2063795.html

 

 

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article2063795.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Expected, I think. 

That photo makes him look like it's a video game. Did they take it with a potato?

 

After finishing reading, it's interesting to note that Masa is no longer as involved as he used to be. Perhaps he feels that he doesn't have to micromanage the company anymore. Marcelo is here to kick ass, and he sold his 10 billion dollar company to SoftBank to prove it. I am excited. This is going to be a fun year.