SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

T-Mobile and Sprint, the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers respectively, have called off merger talks [reuters.com], although they have left the door open in a joint statement [t-mobile.com]:

Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc said on Saturday they have called off merger talks to create a stronger U.S. wireless company to rival market leaders, leaving No. 4 provider Sprint to engineer a turnaround on its own.

The announcement marks the latest failed attempt to combine the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers, as Sprint parent SoftBank Group Corp and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG, show unwillingness to part with too much of their prized U.S. telecom assets. A combined company would have had more than 130 million U.S. subscribers, behind Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc.

The failed merger could also help keep wireless prices low as all four providers have been heavily discounting their cellphone plans in a battle for consumers. "Consumers are better off without the merger because Sprint and T-Mobile will continue to compete fiercely for budget-conscious customers," said Erik Gordon, a Ross School of Business professor at the University of Michigan.

The companies' unusual step of making a joint announcement on the canceled negotiations could indicate they still recognize the merits of a merger, keeping the door open for potential future talks.

Also at Bloomberg [bloomberg.com], NYT [nytimes.com], and Ars Technica [arstechnica.com].

Previously: Sprint: Purchase of T-Mobile Promotes Competition [soylentnews.org]
Inside the Plan to Pull Sprint Out of its Death Spiral [soylentnews.org]

Related: Sprint the Only US Telecomm to Challenge NSA [soylentnews.org]
T-Mobile and Verizon Mobile Plans Change; Probably Not Better for Consumers [soylentnews.org]
Are True Burner Phones Now Impossible in the USA? [soylentnews.org]
T-Mobile's New 600 MHz Network Rollout Begins This Summer [soylentnews.org]
Verizon Wireless Divides Unlimited Plan Into Three Worse Options [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission