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

[S4GRU]

I wonder if SoLinc would like to take Sprint's 900MHz spectrum holdings off of Sprint's hands

 

Since by some reports it seems that Sprint B26 LTE may be in some SoLinc spectrum, I wouldn't be surprised if something like this has not been worked out.

 

Robert

[Josh]

I came across this article and thought I could find something here that was more comprehensive and better, but since I did not see anything, I thought I would start it.

 

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/what-a-merged-sprint-and-t-mobile-would-look-like/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

 

This shows the possible map of the combined company but is not entirely accurate. The map is using T-Mobile's map that includes 2G and is not representative of actual usable data coverage and customer experience. They make it look like t-mobile actually has more coverage than sprint, which I believe is biased and used as an agenda for t-mobile fanboys to say "t-mobile should buy sprint, sprint sucks... etc, etc "  

 

We all know that having the biggest map or fastest speeds are not necessary to have a good experience on a wireless carrier, but more that you are covered everywhere you go and can do all the things that you want (ie. stream music, watch YouTube, video chat, play games, text...even call? lol).  But coverage is something we would all like to see more of, and better speeds wouldn't hurt anything either. 

 

I know that I saw a report from crown tower stating that their overlap of towers between sprint and t-mobile was only 5,000 towers and accounted for only 5% of their revenue.  But that is only accounting for towers that are co-located and not right next to each other and only from one tower management company.  

 

The main question I have is: would Sprint/T-Mobile's coverage increase if the merger was allowed to go through.  I know that we have a map of every sprint tower, but is there one that shows t-mobile towers?  Do they even have many towers outside their 3G/4G network, or does their 2G technology cover wide areas that much better?  If they do not have many towers and they are spaced really far out, the map lies even more as adding even low band spectrum with LTE will likely not match the coverage of the 2G.  So that will have a large impact on the final combined map because sprin-t-mobile will likely want to add 600/700/800Mhz LTE (as well as the other bands too, although without as much coverage) to those rural towers so they can be more competitive.  

 

Also, what are the chances of the combined entity putting up new towers at least along all major interstates and roads connecting towns that do have native sprint coverage to those highways? I know that one of the reasons for the purposed merger is to cut costs so that the companies can turn a profit, but if they reduce their overlapping cell sites, will they look for new ones so they can better compete with the big 2?

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Legere has no business being T-Mobile CEO, future Sprint CEO, or any CEO.  And the people who eat up his shtick should know better.

 

http://geeksided.com/2014/06/19/t-mobile-ceo-takes-far-rape-comment/

 

AJ

[cdk]

Legere has no business being T-Mobile CEO, future Sprint CEO, or any CEO.  And the people who eat up his shtick should know better.

 

http://geeksided.com/2014/06/19/t-mobile-ceo-takes-far-rape-comment/

 

AJ

 

What a *******.

[WiWavelength]

This shows the possible map of the combined company but is not entirely accurate. The map is using T-Mobile's map that includes 2G and is not representative of actual usable data coverage and customer experience. They make it look like t-mobile actually has more coverage than sprint, which I believe is biased and used as an agenda for t-mobile fanboys to say "t-mobile should buy sprint, sprint sucks... etc, etc "  

 

Overall, T-Mobile does have a slightly larger native footprint than Sprint does.  That is due to or mitigated by a few factors.

 

As you note, much of that footprint is limited to GSM.  And it is not only 2G but also PCS 1900 MHz deployment of questionable density.  The reason for this is that T-Mobile cannot or will not strike roaming agreements to the level that Sprint does.

 

Now, Sprint coverage catches flack from some for relying upon what they perceive as too much roaming footprint.  But look at the T-Mobile alternative.  If you were a T-Mobile user in a rural area, would you rather be relegated to a sketchy GSM 1900 native network or a mature GSM 850, even W-CDMA 850 roaming network?

 

AJ

[maxsilver]

Do they even have many towers outside their 3G/4G network, or does their 2G technology cover wide areas that much better?

 

T-Mobile actually has a lot more towers than people give them credit for. I haven't pulled any numbers since Legere's stepped in, but before he arrived they had something like 37,000 sites on the 3G/4G network, and approx 52,000 sites nationwide. That was before they started with LTE and network expansion, and before MetroPCS merger.

 

A lot of that was (and still is) EDGE only, and hasn't been touched since the VoiceStream days. But it's still there.

 

 

I only have Michigan numbers, but since then, Sprint's total sites have dropped significantly (they shed a lot of non-redundant iDEN sites) and T-Mobile's numbers have risen, but only slightly (they threw away most MetroPCS sites, but kept a few in areas where they previously had roaming-only and kept almost all the DAS systems. Something like 40-80 new sites state-wide are now live that were previously MetroPCS sites)

[Destroyallcubes]

Does Tmo's VoLTE hand off voice calls to WCDMA or EDGE? I hope so, or those early VoLTE markets would be a disaster as people get dropped at the edge of LTE signal. And being on Band 4, that would happen a lot.

 

If Sprint can get their VoLTE to hand off to CDMA, then it's a no brainer that they should also adopt VoLTE. It will open up a big world of voice roaming, as VoLTE would allow them to roam on any provider, and not be limited to just CDMA providers. Sprint is likely working on VoLTE internally. But they sure aren't tipping their hand at this point.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

My question would be with the LTE roaming deals, if you are on sprint VOLTE, and you hit roaming on a partner carrier with no VOLTE, Will your call drop? 

[WiWavelength]

My question would be with the LTE roaming deals, if you are on sprint VOLTE, and you hit roaming on a partner carrier with no VOLTE, Will your call drop?

 

VoLTE is irrelevant. Calls almost universally do not hand off between native and roaming.

 

AJ

[Destroyallcubes]

VoLTE is irrelevant. Calls almost universally do not hand off between native and roaming.

AJ

Could it be possible with Volte?

[tybo31316]

Could it be possible with Volte?

I believe I recall someone on this forum saying its possible with CDMA roaming carriers just don't allow it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Fraydog]

DoCoMo has a working group for this. I imagine something similar will be used eventually by Sprint and other working partners.

 

https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/binary/pdf/corporate/technology/rd/technical_journal/bn/vol15_2/vol15_2_037en.pdf

[bigsnake49]

I believe I recall someone on this forum saying its possible with CDMA roaming carriers just don't allow it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yes it is possible with CDMA. I believe it is also possible with VoLTE.

[WiWavelength]

Could it be possible with Volte?

 

Per all roadmaps I have seen, VoLTE roaming alone is years off.  Initial VoLTE deployments will use e/CSFB for all incoming roamers.  So, VoLTE native to roaming (or vice versa) handoffs are not likely any time soon.

 

AJ

[CaptainSlow]

I came across this article and thought I could find something here that was more comprehensive and better, but since I did not see anything, I thought I would start it.

 

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/what-a-merged-sprint-and-t-mobile-would-look-like/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

In my opinion, that graph is a great example of an optical illusion. By indicating overlap areas using Purple color, which belongs to the same color group as pink/magenta, T-Mobile's coverage seems to be visually reinforced. I bet Sprint and T-Mobile coverage areas would look much more balanced simply by using a neutral color such as blue or black. Heck, if they used Orange to indicate overlap coverage, the perception would be reversed.

Edited June 20, 2014 by CaptainSlow

[CaptainSlow]

Legere has no business being T-Mobile CEO, future Sprint CEO, or any CEO.  And the people who eat up his shtick should know better.

 

http://geeksided.com/2014/06/19/t-mobile-ceo-takes-far-rape-comment/

 

AJ

Well, at least he can dip into T-Mobile's cash to defend himself when he gets sued.

 

http://www.lightreading.com/mobile/4g-lte/is-softbank-ready-to-reunite-with-legere/a/d-id/707433

 

"Legere reportedly used $500,000 of company money from Asia Global Crossing without first obtaining board approval to settle three sexual harassment suits against him."

[S4GRU]

"Legere reportedly used $500,000 of company money from Asia Global Crossing without first obtaining board approval to settle three sexual harassment suits against him."

Now, that makes him a sleazeball.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[TheForce627]

T-Mobile actually has a lot more towers than people give them credit for. I haven't pulled any numbers since Legere's stepped in, but before he arrived they had something like 37,000 sites on the 3G/4G network, and approx 52,000 sites nationwide. That was before they started with LTE and network expansion, and before MetroPCS merger.

 

A lot of that was (and still is) EDGE only, and hasn't been touched since the VoiceStream days. But it's still there.

 

 

I only have Michigan numbers, but since then, Sprint's total sites have dropped significantly (they shed a lot of non-redundant iDEN sites) and T-Mobile's numbers have risen, but only slightly (they threw away most MetroPCS sites, but kept a few in areas where they previously had roaming-only and kept almost all the DAS systems. Something like 40-80 new sites state-wide are now live that were previously MetroPCS sites)

this is accurate in my area. T-Mobile has a very dense network here. Many sites are T-Mobile only in addition to them being on shared sites

[bigsnake49]

You know I hate the NY Post and it sounds like an article that Ergen probably paid for, but it speculates that Verizon might be interested in Dish spectrum:

 

http://nypost.com/2014/06/19/verizon-wireless-eyeing-dish-network-spectrum/

 

A lot of stuff thrown against the wall to see if it sticks.  $17B for Dish spectrum, I don't think so !

[JeffDTD]

Verizon pursuing Dish or Dish spectrum only is not bad news for sprint/tmo

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[bigsnake49]

Verizon pursuing Dish or Dish spectrum only is not bad news for sprint/tmo

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

Then who are they going to unload EBS spectrum to?

 

I was hoping that the creation of a 4th carrier out of Dish will help grease the skids for the Sprint/T-Mobile merger...

Edited June 20, 2014 by bigsnake49

[JeffDTD]

If they officially put it up for sale, at least one member of the duopoly would want it, among other smaller suitors.

 

On second thought, if Uncle Charlie were in the trenches of negotiation with softbank and wasnt happy with the price (as he only wins when someone else loses) floating news about how much verizon wants his spectrum is a negotiation tactic

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[bigsnake49]

If they officially put it up for sale, at least one member of the duopoly would want it, among other smaller suitors.

 

On second thought, if Uncle Charlie were in the trenches of negotiation with softbank and wasnt happy with the price (as he only wins when someone else loses) floating news about how much verizon wants his spectrum is a negotiation tactic

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Oh, I definitely think this is a "sponsored" article   .

[WiWavelength]

A lot of stuff thrown against the wall to see if it sticks.  $17B for Dish spectrum, I don't think so !

 

Yeah, if Dish's AWS-4 and Lower 700 MHz spectrum alone is worth that, then T-Mobile -- spectrum, network, and subs -- is worth eleventy billion dollars.

 

AJ

[dnicekid]

Then who are they going to unload EBS spectrum to?

 

I was hoping that the creation of a 4th carrier out of Dish will help grease the skids for the Sprint/T-Mobile merger...

There will be a 4th...dish mobile

They sell spectrum to vzw for 17 billion and then bid for Tmo at a slightly cheaper price... Govt wants 4 right? Att will try to block sprint/tmo... Att will promise cheaper roaming rates to charlie..govt denies sprint charlie steps in.

Sprint could end up on the short side again..

 

Just a thought

[bigsnake49]

There will be a 4th...dish mobile

They sell spectrum to vzw for 17 billion and then bid for Tmo at a slightly cheaper price... Govt wants 4 right? Att will try to block sprint/tmo... Att will promise cheaper roaming rates to charlie..govt denies sprint charlie steps in.

Sprint could end up on the short side again..

 

Just a thought

I think Dish wants to be more than just a mobile operator. They want to be able to offer fixed and mobile broadband to their subscribers. Plus if they are patient they could probably pick up more spectrum and a lot of T-Mobiles's network for a discount after T-Mobile is integrated into Sprint. Now will that get done before 2017 which is their deadline? I don't know!