Sprint Reportedly Bowing Out of T-Mobile Bid (was "Sprint offer" and "Iliad" threads)

[Fraydog]

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0EI0KU20140607?feedType=RSS&irpc=932

 

SoftBank is cutting prices in Japan. Funny timing?

[Fraydog]

Also, I don't know how legitimate the TK Tech News comments are. That said, I could see a rebranding coming.

[milan03]

Thought this was pretty funny, and dead on 

 

[Fraydog]

Welp.

 

http://www.softbankusa.com

 

There's the domain ready for use.

[WiWavelength]

Welp.

 

http://www.softbankusa.com

 

There's the domain ready for use.

 

I have never liked the SoftBank name.  But I will definitely take it over Magenta.

 

AJ

[milan03]

I actually don't mind their color.

[xdfgf]

I can live with Softbank USA

[IamMrFamous07]

http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/06/sprint-t-mobile-reportedly-merging-softbank-usa.html

 

 

Interesting!

[cdk]

Meh. Anything is better than Magenta.

 

Although that page looks more like a webpage for a holding company than a rebranding...

[IamMrFamous07]

I hope "SoftBank USA" still commits to the roaming hub

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

"SoftBank USA" is a little strange, but overall, I don't mind it - no stranger than "Verizon", whatever the f*** that means.

[KD8JBF]

http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/06/sprint-t-mobile-reportedly-merging-softbank-usa.html

 

 

Interesting!

Interesting indeed! Thanks for sharing!

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

[JeremiahMcCurry]

Luckily, S4GRU can just become Softbank 4G Rollout Updates. 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

I think this merger is going to actually happen.

 

I'm all for it, as long as the combined company can deliver on promises quickly and bring REAL competition to the US wireless market (and not just on price, but also COVERAGE). Basically, be as disruptive as possible. Masa will have to make a lot of concessions and promises to get this deal to pass muster, but I think it'll happen.

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Luckily, S4GRU can just become Softbank 4G Rollout Updates.

Exactly.

[JThorson]

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/6013-sprint-ramping-up-to-make-t-mobile-offer/page-22&do=findComment&comment=325841

 

They are also discussing that over on this page as well. It is all very interesting and gives some excitement 

[gnoj]

..So, GSM is kept around at its bare minimum mostly for intermittent machine to machine connections and for the roamer with an old/incompatible handset.

 

Another reason for keeping a GSM or HSPA+ carrier running for a few more years would be to support travelers from overseas. Most of the world is far behind the U.S. when it comes to LTE deployment, and SoftBank would be leaving money on the table if the only option left for tourists was AT&T.

 

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0EI0KU20140607?feedType=RSS&irpc=932

 

SoftBank is cutting prices in Japan. Funny timing?

 

It is ironic that at the same time Masa is arguing that his proposed merger will be good for competition, regulators back in his home country are upset at the state of a mostly 3-player market there. I am not exactly comforted by the fact that NTT, rather than SoftBank, was the first this year to lower their rates.

 

 

Hmm...

 

Couple interesting takeaways from that, if it is accurate. First, they've backpedaled on the whole "throttle the top 5%" thing (as discussed here), and are going to eliminate all the assorted prepaid brands. I think a brand pruning is overdue, as I don't really see the point of a prepaid-postpaid divide anymore after service contracts are out of the picture. The only major difference is roaming, which hopefully shouldn't be as much of an expense after native coverage is expanded through the Roaming Hub and an organic buildout.

 

I've also been noticing that many media outlets are making the mistake of saying "VoLTE" when they mean "HD Voice", and vice versa. Just because the duopoly have chosen to use VoLTE as their exclusive vehicle for HD Voice, does not mean the terms are interchangeable.

 

"SoftBank USA" is a little strange, but overall, I don't mind it - no stranger than "Verizon", whatever the f*** that means.

 

"Verizon" is a portmanteau of veritas (Latin for truth), and horizon. According to the company, those words were chosen because they respectively signify certainty/reliability and being forward-looking or visionary.

 

The name "SoftBank" doesn't have the same effect (it is a carryover from when the company sold software), and I think will just confuse the average Joe who will think it's an actual bank. I know the brand is tarnished, but I still like the name Sprint.

[Fraydog]

I think HSPA+ will be around longer than a few years... It's probably going to be around past 2020 and maybe even beyond that for M2M and global roaming.

[EvanA]

 

Hmm...

He's wrong at the end when he says sprint can "flip a switch" and turn on VoLTE. There's still a lot of work to do before that can happen.

 

He's also wrong about the top 5% stuff being removed... It's still there http://www.sprint.com/legal/open_internet_information.html

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Terrell352]

I have been following tk tech news for a while so I am surprised that they used his reference. I generally find that he is wrong about a lot of his topics and hes not a fan of sprint due to slow LTE speeds. I have had to correct him a few times on his YouTube channel. He is novice. He does speed tests and doesn't try to find the nearest towers to check them out. He doesn't know how to tell what band he is on either. I really would not buy into anything he is saying about this merger. There are plenty of people here a billion times more informed than he is.

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/6013-sprint-ramping-up-to-make-t-mobile-offer/page-22&do=findComment&comment=325841

 

They are also discussing that over on this page as well. It is all very interesting and gives some excitement

[IamMrFamous07]

He's wrong at the end when he says sprint can "flip a switch" and turn on VoLTE. There's still a lot of work to do before that can happen.

 

He's also wrong about the top 5% stuff being removed... It's still there http://www.sprint.com/legal/open_internet_information.html

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Volte can be installed for all we know...might just need an update to the tower

[davidtm]

As a Sprint person in nTelos-land, I'm wondering if or how this would affect the current partnership and nTelos' (painfully delayed) rollout of LTE. I'm hoping it's either such a small deal that it will be unaffected, or maybe there will be some avenue for getting us on board more quickly.

 

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk

[dnicekid]

The tech guy does have some interesting news.. If its true. The idea of combining everyone with no contracts etc, etc is a good idea.

Keep that cca thing going and they could have a foot print close to att/vzw a lot sooner. In one breath he swears its gonna happen, and then mentions doj possibly blocking it... Overall not much more than what has already been going around I guess. Although I thought it was going to be tmo for a name...

One thing he mentioned, dt keeps 20% which means Sprint would get 47%? doesnt sprint really need that to be 15% for dt so they will be at 52%?

 

 

Edited

[caspar347]

I've also been noticing that many media outlets are making the mistake of saying "VoLTE" when they mean "HD Voice", and vice versa. Just because the duopoly have chosen to use VoLTE as their exclusive vehicle for HD Voice, does not mean the terms are interchangeable.

 

This. I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed. I think the media definitely needs to get that fixed, as there are a few advantages to a 1xA-based HD Voice system, mainly coverage-related.

[kg4icg]

Hey dnicekid, DT has a 20 percent stake in it, not TMobile, and there would be Free roaming between Softbank and DT so that means basically free use in Europe, Japan, and the US