bigsnake49

Just like I suggested: "The companies are considering a number of ways to appease the AGs. One idea T-Mobile has floated is to help fund a similar program to the federally-subsidized wireless program for low-income people, known as the Lifeline Assistance Program. The program allows eligible people to buy mobile telephone services at a discount and could potentially offer people in the program broadband service as well." https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/t-mobile-sprint-open-door-213234891.html

Yep, but if T-Mobile is smart it would give them discounts as long as they use T-Mobile's service nd network.

The settlement with the states is all about contributing to some fund to subsidize poor people to get cell service, maybe for some years, 3-5 years. This is all political, they need to show that they stood up to the big, bd corporations.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It's about time for the FCC to actually get the final order circulated and signed.

I saw it mentioned somewhere that Dish will be employing a cloud based virtualized C-RAN (Centralized Radio Access Network) architecture, ala Rakuten in Japan which means no basestation equipment at macro sites, just RRHs. Will the new T-Mobile adopt the C-RAN standard? It seems to me that it has a lot of advantages vis a vis the traditional enodeB architecture.

I wonder Milan has a spreadsheet for like the top 100 markets.

Milan Milanovic has a very nice blog post about PCS contiguity between Sprint and T-Mobile and then total 600MHz spectrum between T-Mobile and Dish. One very interesting tidbit is that Dish has an option to purchase Sprint's 800Mhz holdings but if they refuse they have to pay substantial penalties. So it's not a foregone conclusion that it will be sold to Dish. If it does not get sold, T-Mobile has the option to auction it off or continue using it. While there is a lot of contiguity between T-Mobile and Spint in the PCS band, there is also lot of opportunities/challenges in spectrum horse trading. There are quite a few markets in which Block G is stranded. https://www.speedtest.net/insights/blog/new-t-mobile-spectrum-coverage/

Instead of waiting for another 4 months, can T-Mobile and Sprint come to a side agreement and start integrating their networks by Sprint leasing their spectrum to T-Mobile and having them free roam on T-Mobile? Basically do the same thing as agreed but without waiting for the trial.

Yes, the T-Mobile has the option to lease Dish's 600Mhz spectrum. Dish is obligated to deploy their spectrum and cover 70% of all Americans within 4 years.

Just remember that they will have it for at least 3 more years and maybe for 5. That is a long time. Enough time for replacing all the phones that don't have bands 66 and 71.

Damn, that's impressive! That's why I wanted T-Mobile to buy Sprint. To light a fire under their behind!

So, where is the FCC consent decree concerning this merger? We have not heard anything from them. Are they dotting the i's and crossing their t's. This has been the longest, strangest mergers ever.

They will get some Sprint network assets at fire sale prices. So not as much as if they started from the ground up. Plus Sprint base stations are completely programmable to accommodate new protocols.

Building new coverage sites (approximately 10,000) will probably take more time than adding T-Mobile equipment to approximately 10,000 non-redundant Sprint sites. The latter will plug up most coverage and capacity holes. I have full confidence in T-Mobile's network and project management teams. Just remember that they can be working on all of this even before the merger closes.

I do believe that integration of the two networks will be faster than 3 years. T-Mobile and Sprint teams have been working feverishly since the merger was proposed to identify which sites will be eliminated and which sites will be kept and what will happen to each site's equipment.

Thanks Trip! So bands 2, 25 MFBI fully in effect on the T-Mobile side. Probably on the Sprint side as well.

Yes they do but probably not in my market or yours. I cannot wait for them to turn on full roaming on each other's networks.

Well, how is T-Mobile's coverage/data?

It is a political circus because some people are using it to further their political aims. See, I stood up toe to toe to those big, bad corporations when the feds folded. It is also said that the DOJ anti-trust chief, Makan Delrahim might be playing the political game.

I think that the DOJ should appear in court to bolster T-Mobile's case.

OK, so what will it take for the states to drop their suit? Does the DOJ assert jurisdiction in court telling the judge they have absolutely no legal standing since it is the bailiwick of the feds? Or do they negotiate a payment to some fund to be used to defray to cost of cell service for the poor. Something to the tune of let's say $300M?

Here is the part of interest from an Fiercewireless article (thanks to @PythonFanPA😞 First, Shentel’s Earle MacKenzie said, Shentel cannot file an injunction to try to block the merger. If the merger is approved, the combined Sprint and T-Mobile—generally called New T-Mobile—will have 60 days to decide whether it wants to purchase Shentel’s wireless business. “If they do decide to buy our wireless business, there is a formula that you provide to our shareholders, a very handsome return. If they choose not to buy our wireless business, Shentel will remain an affiliate of the New T-Mobile and for the next 180 days, we have the option to acquire the T- mobile customers and that work in our 7 million POPs service area at 75% of the value of the customers and asset as determined by the merger value,” MacKenzie said during the call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcription of the event. “If we can’t finance the purchase, then the New T-Mobile will finance the purchase at their cost of capital for up to five years. If Shentel decides not to buy T-Mobile network and customers, then the new T-Mobile must turn off the T-Mobile network that overlaps Shentel within two years.” https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/shentel-carrier-at-crossroads-sprint-and-t-mobile-merger

I think they will go full speed ahead until the merger closes.

Yep I saw that.

OK, here are the terms of approval by the FCC: "Pai said the companies have committed to deploying a 5G network that would cover 97% of the U.S. population within three years of the closing of the merger and 99% of Americans within six years. In addition, 85% of rural Americans would be covered within three years and 90% covered within six years. T-Mobile and Sprint also guaranteed that 90% of Americans would have access to mobile broadband service at speeds of at least 100 Mbps and 99% would have access to speeds of at least 50 Mbps." https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/20/fcc-will-not-formally-approve-t-mobile-sprint-merger-on-monday-because-it-must-still-draft-order-reuters.html