GlobalData : T-Mobile has launched a compelling pre-emptive strike to secure its merger with Sprint

08 Nov 2019
T-Mobile has launched a compelling pre-emptive strike to secure its merger with Sprint Posted in Press Release, Technology

Following today's news (Thursday 7 November) that T-Mobile has made some bold promises if its merger with Sprint can close;

Lynnette Luna, Principal Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view on the news:

'T-Mobile has made very bold promises that can only come to fruition with the vast wireless spectrum holdings, the combined T-Mobile and Sprint will have. State attorneys general who oppose the merger on antitrust grounds are concerned about its potential impact on competition and wireless service prices. However, the promises T-Mobile made today make it difficult for any regulator to continue contesting the merger.

'T-Mobile is promising unprecedented moves for any wireless carrier, which begs the question: Can the New T-Mobile pull this off? The answer is yes. We've said all along that the New T-Mobile will result in one of the first and most comprehensive 5G networks in the world given the spectrum assets of both T-Mobile and Sprint. Unlike 4G, emerging 5G networks require carriers to have access to several different frequency bands, in order to meet all 5G's promises around ultra-high-speed data transmission and latency. T-Mobile has a large swathe of 600 MHz spectrum and will have access to Sprint's highly coveted 2.5 GHz spectrum, provided the merger closes.

'Among the specific promises made by T-Mobile today, is a 10-year commitment for free 5G access for first responders at every public and non-profit agency, such as police, fire and emergency medical services (EMS). The company also declared that the New T-Mobile will close the 'homework gap', with a $10bn commitment to offer free online access and hardware to some 10 million homes with children that are without service.

'On the pricing front, the New T-Mobile threw a bombshell at competitors by promising a prepaid service plan at $15 per month for 2GB of high-speed data, 4G or 5G, and 5GB of high-speed data at $25 per month. That heavily undercuts all prepaid service plans, where competition for budget-constrained customers is at its greatest.

'T-Mobile executing on all of these promises will heavily impact AT&T and Verizon, both competitively and in terms of corporate goodwill. These carriers cannot sit back without a response.'