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Sprint Calls on Government to Oppose AT&T-T-Mobile Purchase | PhoneNews.com Welcome to PhoneNews.com, providing complete coverage of the wireless industry, cell phone news, and future 4G technologies..NewsForumsPhone EncyclopediaReviewsNerdsWired & VoIP
News Sprint Calls on Government to Oppose AT&T-T-Mobile Purchase37 CommentsWritten by Humberto Saabedra on March 28, 2011Sprint
This afternoon, Sprint has filed a press release calling on federal regulators to formally block the purchase of T-Mobile USA by AT&T as well as detailing the reasons why the proposed purchase would be bad for competition. The release also spells out how Sprint and the industry would be affected as found below with quotes from Sprint Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Vonya McCann:
“Sprint urges the United States government to block this anti-competitive acquisition. This transaction will harm consumers and harm competition at a time when this country can least afford it. As the first national carrier to roll out 4G services and handsets and the carrier that brought simple unlimited pricing to the marketplace, Sprint stands ready to compete in a truly dynamic marketplace. So on behalf of our customers, our industry and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly.”
This follows similar comments made last week during the CTIA trade show, with Sprint detailing its reaction to news of the purchase in an open letter to the media.
Share this:EmailPrintTwitterTrackback | Permalink |37 Comments on “Sprint Calls on Government to Oppose AT&T-T-Mobile Purchase” Sour Grapes on March 28th, 2011, 2:21 pmWasn’t Sprint rumored to buy T-Mobile? Sounds like sour grapes, I mean it’s OK if they bought T-Mobile, but not AT&T?
Jason on March 28th, 2011, 2:32 pmSprint if Sprint bought Tmobile, they would not own 130Million subs of the market!!!
Sprint and Tmobile would make a stronger number three, not two companys with over 230million subs..
F1 on March 28th, 2011, 3:15 pmWhat is the matter Dan Hesse, are you afraid of your former employer, firing you? Love how they (SPRINT) call themselves, “advanced technology company”, why don’t they take up this challenge and innovate, make a lemonade, instead of these miserable anouncements! Thank You
bottomline on March 28th, 2011, 3:23 pmExactly, I agree with jason. If they were to allow this acquisition it would essentially create a duopoly! Meaning, it would give more power to the top 2(Verizon & AT&T) carriers than what they already have. I guess, if u dont mind paying more & there being less competition then you’d be all for this purchase…..
Creighton on March 28th, 2011, 3:25 pmI say let the battle begin!
Jail Bird on March 28th, 2011, 3:35 pmIt’s sad that Sprint, instead of competing based on free-market principals on price & service, have decided to go crying to big daddy government to intervene.
Sprint: If it requires the govt to save you, you’re not worth saving.
Nanfy on March 28th, 2011, 4:16 pmI don’t mind ATT buying tmobile but I think there should be much more regulations passed that protect the customer.
Thing such as
- All phones must be sold UNLOCKED (I see no purpose in locking a phone when you have a 2 year contract)
- ETF’s must be prorated
- Material Changes to contracts must be explained clearly to customers. Via mail, SMS, and Email. Simply putting in a small letter with the monthly bill isn’t enough.
-CDMA networks must allow other CDMA devices. CDMA networks must be made more open through open standards of interoperability.
-A customer bill of rights should be passed into law
Some of you are just ignorant or just dont care paying a lot of money on wireless service. The whole point here is that Sprint is trying to not only save their company but also keep prices low and still offer great services like unlimited data that is truly unlimited. If you guys that are saying its okay for att to buy tmobile like 2gig of data and crazy prices on data plans not to mention locked phones then go ahead and switch to att already. Some of us still like low or reasonable prices with great data services and options.
@jailbird
Sprint is competing based on free-market principals on price & service. They are offering great prices with unlimited plans that no one else can match except for tmobile. But that alone will not help if the deal with att and tmobile goes through. You have to see the big picture. They are not asking the government to bail them out, they are simply asking the govt to keep competition alive. Just look what happens when either att or a cable company take over a certain town. Prices are outrageous since only 1 company offers cable service. If they allowed multiple cable services in 1 town then prices would be better for the consumer.
Some of you must like paying high prices i guess. I really don’t know how some of you see this as a good thing. Just look at what happened when verizon bought alltel. Most alltel customers now pay double what they were paying.
F1, it’s funny as sh!t to see you always ends your comment with “Thank you”.
To the naive people who says Sprint is a crying baby:
- Metro and Leap aren’t going to make a fuss because they’d like to be acquired, whether by Sprint or Verizon
- Verizon will not whine as bad as Sprint because they want to leave the door (to acquire somebody else) open
- The implication to T-mobile being bought by at&t is far more than what you see on paper, ie the number of carriers YOU, typical consumers, can choose from when switching cell-phone carriers. The grow path going forward for US wireless carriers is going to be connected devices and automobiles. In short, you will be paying more for connected devices such as GSM 3G-ready Nook.
Sprint is lobbying against the merger for you people free of charge, unless you’re a Sprint customer, of course. Verizon and at&t’s post-paid growth rate would not have come to standstill if not because of Metro, Leap and Sprint coming out with the cheaper plans. Fact is, Sprint’s last quarter has BETTER post-paid growth than at&t, excluding connected devices.
bj on March 29th, 2011, 6:10 amAnd I haven’t even started talking about the impact to phones and network gears manufacturers.
It’s a good thing to see both WiMax and LTE evolving, and they’re both moving forward because different companies adopts different technologies, thus driving innovations. If all carriers just blinding adopt one technology and there’s no competing technology, I doubt we’re even talking about 4G today.
F1 on March 29th, 2011, 7:02 amThis is what meant by “innovation” for SPRINT, as the only NO-IPHONE major carrier, they could still attract millions of new accounts from VZW & AT&T, also inline with dropping enforcement of so called “Everything Plans + $10? on their existing ”Legacy Clients” would prevent an exodus, make it into a real trailblazer! Hope to see this in the United States; http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/o2-scraps-mobile-tethering-surcharges-cheers-up-a-whole-united/&category=classic&icid=eng_latest_art Thank You
jim on March 29th, 2011, 8:00 amDo you really think Sprint is looking out for customers’ interests? No. Sprint is looking out for SPRINT. If the deal fails, Sprint has another chance to buy T-Mobile. If it suceeds, then Sprint is in big trouble holding only 12% of the market, and stands to be either acquired whole or in part, or goes bankrupt (with or without Clearwire).
And yes, Dan Hesse IS scared shirtless of AT&T firing him again. Loved that one lol.
bottomline on March 29th, 2011, 8:29 amBottomline, this purchase(AT&T buying T-Mobile) is bad for us any way u look at it!!! Less competition=higher prices. What dont u guys understand??!!
Sour Grapes on March 29th, 2011, 8:31 amSprint is only looking after there own self interests, I really don’t buy that they are looking after everyone with there complaining about the deal. If it matters I’m already an AT&T customer with no issues with there pricing, and there will always be other options out there even if the merger takes place.
JJ on March 29th, 2011, 10:42 am@sourgrapes
Of course they are also looking for their own self interests. They are a business after all and are not non profit. If they weren’t looking out for themselves and for making money then they wouldn’t be able to offer services like they do. Have common sense! All three companies are in it for the money. What differintates them is what they offer the customer and with sprint it is better for the consumer if they stayed in business. If you are happy with your prices then good. Most people aren’t and thats why we have sprint. I myself don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for only 2gigs of data and no tethering option either. With sprint, unlimited means unlimited and I am very happy with that.
I think you also have to consider all the exclusive deals with vendors of phones and content providers. The bigger piece of the pie you have, the more leverage. Therefore Sprint will get less and less “exclusive” partnerships / opportunities. And they will therefore look less attractive to those wanting to switch carriers or signing up. Also, they won’t be able to do the Any Mobile Any Time deal as much if most of the calls will be to other carriers, where price is certainly to rise… I say time to break up Verizon / AT&T, and/or remove exclusive content / devices deals. Make all peering points public.
bj on March 30th, 2011, 6:10 amFinally, someone gets part of the implication, thanks Min.
As to sour grapes and jim… life is all good to be suckers. Keep sucking up.
JJ on March 30th, 2011, 8:57 amHow does the saying go, “misery loves company”? I guess they are miserable under the hands of att and want everyone else to do the same.
bottomline on March 30th, 2011, 10:36 amHere here…… Some people just dont get it! How ignorant can u be??!!
LESS COMPETITION=HIGHER PRICES! It shouldnt take a rocket scientist to figure it out…
I doubt people disagreeing with SPRINT’s agenda, would imply that they want “misery a la AT&T”?!
I have one question for all to think about:
Whose fault is it, that SPRINT is, where it is today?
I doubt Economic Principles are at question here,
SPRINT failed with it’s merger with NEXTEL, SPRINT failed to win a merger with T-Mobile, due to Dan Hesse’s “low balling”, thereby now suffering the consequences of it’s cumulative failure.
Not to mention SPRINT’s, handeling of legacy accounts of 10s of million, at best we will end up however temporary, after the FCC & DOJ decision, with the same 4 carriers, and at that point, SPRINT can take a second shot at it, or just sit back and wait for VZW to make a decision one way or another to perhaps keep the status quo.
I see the same compatibily issues as with NEXTEL, more debt, more failure and lastly bankruptcy/takeover.
Thank You
bottomline on March 30th, 2011, 12:02 pmWith all due respect, atleast as far as im concerned, this has nothing to do with Sprint at all. My personal objection to this purchase has everything to do with the further consolidation of power going to only 2 wireless carriers(AT&T and Verizon), thereby creating a duopoly! By the way, from everything I’ve read, T-Mobile customers arent exactly jumping for joy either, can you blame them? Down the road, they’re all going to be forced to migrate to much more expensive AT&T plans….. As stated before, this has everything to do with “less competition which leads to higher prices”!
F1 on March 30th, 2011, 12:48 pmAs stated above “I doubt Economic Principles are at question here”.
No one is questioning the fact that competition is good in infinit ways, thereby as expressed above, Ihave great doubt that the merger, as it stands right now, will be approved by the FCC & DOJ.
SPRINT is however hidding behind this facadecreating the appearance, that otherwise there are no other issues with SPRINT.
(mobile browser has issues with mobile 6.1 will not allow editing)
Thank You
The thanking jet is sour grapes too because of the plan changes required for the phone he/she wants.
bottomline on March 30th, 2011, 4:09 pmOk, so Sprint has many issues to deal with…… What does that have to do with AT&T trying to purchase T-Mobile thereby cornering the wireless market along with Verizon??!! Whether Sprint is against it or for it, its irrelevant to us(consumers). For us it would be terrible anyway u look at it. Unless yur a high paying AT&T customer and dont mind paying a premium for yur wireless service. In that case, its fantastic……
Phoneman on March 30th, 2011, 4:11 pmI am happy Sprint is fighting this. AT&T is probably the worst company in the nation from a consumer standpoint.
AT&T put limits on their DSL lines, locks down their phones, fails to upgrade their network for years and then blames everyone else when the network falls behind, and all of this while they’re charging top dollar.
The last thing we need is them having even more control over the wireless industry.
JJ on March 31st, 2011, 4:15 am@f1
No one ever said that sprint didn’t have issues. Also sprint is not hiding behind anything. They just don’t want this deal to go through because it will hurt them even more that they are hurting already. Also, last time I checked even with all of sprints ‘so called problems’ they are still one of the best companies when it comes to plan prices. Yes they need help in customer service but when it comes to call quality they are one of the best. So putting all their problems aside all sprint wants is a fighting chance.
I reiterate, to us(wireless consumers), this has nothing to do with Sprint! It has everything to do with AT&T & Verizon dominating the market thereby controlling the marketplace more than what they already do! Again, unless u enjoy paying more then this purchase is fantastic!
F1 on March 31st, 2011, 10:19 amThese are the facts; feel free to agree to disagree:
1. Some of you fellow bloggers, over the past 4 years, well at least since the introduction of the “Instinct” and the gradual implementation of the so-called “Everything Plans”, have read at nauseum of my personal experiences (w/SPRINT since 1997), regarding “customer service/ Retention/Tech support, hence out of respect to you, I will skip a “review” on that, however as it stands right now with the current SPRINT policy of “enforcement” of the new updated “NOW” “Everything Plan Plus $10?, I will forgo recommending SPRINT to anyone, they have consistently pulled a “Bait & Switch” with their absurd “Data” rebadging games ( I have currently 2 “unlimited Data” variations on my last Satement!!), meanwhile today SPRINT is holding the “Smart phone Category devices” hostage to their most valued core consumers, “marking” them as “Legacy Accounts”, hence their discriminatory, “got to switch them” policy!
2. So where is it coming from?
If you recall, the above policy, is exactly what CINGULAR pulled on “AT&T Legacy Accounts”, that is where Dan Hesse SPRINT CEO, who was hand picked by former NEXTEL CEO Foresee, who had fired all eligible SPRINT executives before his regal “retirement”.
Dan Hesse the former AT&T employee, mastered his “Bait & Switch” skills, and upon becoming CEO executed it on SPRINT’s “existing accounts”, the only difference being that CINGULAR bought AT&T a “different company”, miserably failed in marketing and wasted Billions in rebadging it into CINGULAR, only to change it’s name back to AT&T!
Today the AT&T accounts, with “less” static and dropped calls, are the “Original AT&T” accounts. So despite the appearances of similarities in name, today’s AT&T is not the “original Ma Bell”, more like a bad clone in the making.
3. “Marriage of Convenience” & “Lesser of the Evils”
Paying $35 for the 5th so called “Recon/Refurb” Palm Pro 850 Smart phone, which was still well under ” the manufacturer’s warranty”, is hardly convenient, however that is the only option SPRINT provided.
15 months of being off contract has allowed me the freedom to wait and see, who has the best choices and service, “to vote with my wallet” as C.P.likes to call it, for that reason having more choices appears as a logical forgone preferred conclusion, however when in comes to choices, I personally prefer “quality” over “quantity”, the rest is just noise/fillers, some would say less is more.
Regarding policies the ball is still in SPRINT’s court, however ideally I would like to see new players, since the current players seem to be dropping the ball too frequently. No question, we need the two tier carrier eco-system, having two choices per tier is healthier for all, let us hope that the FCC & DOJ do not lose sight of that critical matter.
I agree with you JJ,
the other affordable choice, is the now endangered T-Mobile, and SPRINT on the surface has an attractive “ever evolving everything series of plans”,
however, given our cumulative experiences, can one believe in what they advertise?
Will this “Unlimited Data” of SPRINT going to remain a “real” option” and if so, for how long till the new EVOlution plans make their appearances?
I invite everyone to take a good look at a the contract-fine print and proceed with caution, before you sign on the dotted line and “vote”.
Thank You
bottomline on March 31st, 2011, 12:08 pmY do u keep harping on the same thing?! IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SPRINT! It’s all about choices my friend….. There’s no such thing as a perfect wireless carrier. Acknowledging/having said that, make your choice! If this potential purchase goes thru, your choices will be reduced, with the high probability of having your choices be reduced even further in the near future! Is that what u want?!
MR on March 31st, 2011, 12:56 pm@ F1
wow you’re sad. you’re of THOSE guys. While EVOs, Epics, Thunderbolts, Incredibles, BlackBerries, Pre’s, iPhones, Windows 7 phones, and everything else innovative comes out, you’re that guy with no insurance arguing in the store about why your 2 year old Palm Treo Pro 850 “isnt working like it used to” and swearing up and down you shouldnt HAVE TO upgrade or HAVE TO have insurance. OK you save your little $25 per month while everyone else moves on and has a smartphone they actually LIKE.
F1 on March 31st, 2011, 2:03 pm@ Bottomline
Just in case you missed my final point:
No question, we need the two tier carrier eco-system, having two choices per tier is healthier for all, let us hope that the FCC & DOJ do not lose sight of that critical matter.
So we are in agreement regarding choices!
Thank You
F1 on March 31st, 2011, 2:14 pmSome are meant to be ignored:
@ Mr.
you’re that guy with no insurance?
arguing in the store about why your 2 year old?
Palm Treo Pro 850 “isnt working like it used to?
” and swearing up and down?
you shouldnt HAVE TO upgrade?
or HAVE TO have insurance?
Mr SPRINT why don’t you listen/read first, before you talk/post, it will do you much better, while you are at it, get your facts straight, unless you are on payroll and don’t care to begin with!
Thank You
F1 on March 31st, 2011, 2:18 pmA brief guide:
THOSE guys= SPRINT Customers
Mr.= burned out SPRINT Employee
Thank You
Sour Grapes on March 31st, 2011, 2:48 pm@ JJ just wanted to point out thanks to my employees discount at my job, my monthly AT&T bill is only 76.55, and that includes unlimited texting, mobile to any mobile, I can call any cell phone without using any of my mins, and thanks to that I only use like 50 anytime mins a month.
Yes I don’t have unlimited internet, but I don’t need it. I barely use 1gb of data a month, and I don’t tether, so I’m content, I worry about my needs and At&t covers it. I haven’t gotten any dropped calls unlike others, my phone has a signal everywhere I go, so I’M good.
Unfortunately, there r people(too many) like sour grapes who just dont get it!! Congratulations, if yur a happy camper with AT&T! Thats fantastic, however, the fact remains that if this purchase does go thru, yur(YES U & EVERYBODY ELSES’) choices will be reduced!! With the real possibility that all of our choices will be reduced further(Verizon swallowing Sprint, regardless of what Verizon says now) in the very near future!! What part of that dont u understand???!!! Again, i think its great that yur satisfied with yur wireless needs “NOW”, but(God forbid) whats going to happen if/when yur carrier decides to raise their rates and the only other choice u have will be another carrier with the same rates??!! Just a little food for thought………….
bottomline on March 31st, 2011, 3:17 pmIt just doesnt dawn on some people until its too late, what a shame!
Sour Grapes on April 1st, 2011, 4:16 pmThen I pay it just like everyone else does. As time goes on, everything goes up in price. I’m well aware that with less comp, At&t or Verizon could charge a lot and get away with it, but there will always be other options, maybe not as big as the big 4, but there will always be other carriers around where you live at for other options. \
For example those who live in Ohio there is Cincinnati bell, Bluegrass wireless in Kentucky, US Cellular, Cellular south, Alltell in the Carolina’s, and there will be companies like Simple mobile, boost, H20 etc.
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