T-Mobile and Sprint are said to be "close to agreeing" to terms regarding a deal that would merge the third and fourth largest United States wireless carriers together. People close to the deal told Reuters that Sprint parent company SoftBank would own 40 to 50 percent of the combined company, while T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom will gain the majority stake.

The terms of the deal are expected to be finalized by the end of October, "though talks may still fall through," the two sources said. Previously, U.S. antitrust officials told Sprint that a merger with another wireless carrier would face intense scrutiny because having four major carriers in the U.S. was important to maintaining a competitive market. During those talks a few years ago the situation of the companies was reversed -- since T-Mobile had yet to gain in popularity -- with Sprint seeking to acquire T-Mobile for more than $20 billion.

sprinttmobile
Now, those concerns are said to come into play again with regulatory scrutiny expected to face any deal between Sprint and T-Mobile "over concerns that the U.S. wireless market is becoming too concentrated."

T-Mobile US Inc is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with peer Sprint Corp, people familiar with the matter said, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers.

Once terms are finalized, due diligence by the two companies will follow and a deal is expected by the end of October, though talks may still fall through, the sources said.

If the merger happens, the resulting company would have revenues topping $70 billion and more than 130 million subscribers, falling in line behind the two other major U.S. carriers -- Verizon and AT&T -- in terms of subscribers.

The combined company would be led by T-Mobile CEO John Legere, according to the sources, thanks to T-Mobile outperforming Sprint under his leadership. The new company would also undertake a "massive" effort to cut costs early on.

Top Rated Comments

penajmz Avatar
85 months ago
Are they going to form a super, mega horrible network?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Refurbished_ Avatar
85 months ago
Are they going to form a super, mega horrible network?
Currently driving from NY to Georgia as I type this. I haven’t lost LTE once on my T-Mobile iPhone 7.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Swuycheck Avatar
85 months ago
I’m torn... as a tmobile customer, I want the sprint towers/spectrum coverted to tmobile, but it is nice having 4 players vs 3 players that all look the same... time will tell if this even gets gov approval.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
85 months ago
I'm really conflicted about this one. On the one hand, I think more competition in the marketplace is better. On the other hand, it's quite likely that Sprint will go under in a few years. If the latter is the case, I'd rather T-Mobile scoop them up now than having their towers and infrastructure auctioned off to the big two. T-Mobile has been really instrumental in keeping the big two in check, but I can't help but think they'll become more like the big two if they suddenly are in the big two. As it so often happens, the top dog gets really greedy. Either way, the regulatory climate in the U.S. right now is probably a lot more favorable towards approving mergers like this than they were a few years ago, so anything could happen.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
85 months ago
Will John Legere still wear magenta t-shirts after the merger??
He only does that stuff as an act. He said so in a recent Fast Company article. He's really a suit-wearing business man just like the rest.
[doublepost=1506088533][/doublepost]
I’m cool with this as long as it’s T-mobile branded, Legere led, and keeps the Uncarrier mentality. Sprint is dying anyway.

I’d be tempted to sign up for one of those Sprint promotions where they are giving away service if it was known that they’d be getting access to T-Mobile spectrum soon. But reality is that it will probably take a long time to merge networks.
AHahahahahahahahaahahahah! Those things are never going to happen. Legere has said he's looking to make the transition back to his more traditional roots of business. T-Mobile isn't profitable enough at this point.

They're currently bleeding money with promotions in order to gain customers but are making far less per customer than other providers. That can't continue forever. They'll be raising their prices once they get a good customer base.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
85 months ago
Currently driving from NY to Georgia as I type this. I haven’t lost LTE once on my T-Mobile iPhone 7.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...