Rumor and speculation about a particular wireless carrier buying another wireless carrier have been going strong for at least a couple years now, and today we saw yet another stick added to the large fire. This time around, we’re hearing that Deutsche Telekom is once again contemplating selling T-Mobile USA to the likes of Sprint, which would add plenty of subscriptions to Sprint, and bring yet another wireless technology under the umbrella of the Now Network. And, if you ask me, Sprint buying T-Mo USA wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. In fact, it could be a good thing.
While I’m not a fan of Sprint getting another technology into their hands, considering the company’s stance on WiMAX and the fact they’re looking at LTE for the future, it’s something that would be unavoidable if a purchase of T-Mobile went through. At least right off the bat, anyway. But, with a GSM technology available to them, it would seem to me that Sprint would jump on the chance of having even more phones to offer, with more people to cover.
And that’s really where the good news comes in. AT&T hasn’t been the quickest to jump on the Android train (which they’re alleviating now, since the loss of the iPhone exclusivity), and with the exception of Verizon’s newfound attachment to the little green ‘droid, both Sprint and T-Mobile have been pushing Android pretty hard. And if the two wireless carriers were to come together, that Android stable would only get better.
Manufacturers would more than likely be quick to provide handsets to Sprint/T-Mobile, too. While Sprint was able to gain subscribers during its last quarter, T-Mobile wasn’t so lucky. If the two carriers were to come together and bring all those subscribers together, handset manufacturers would probably be quick to provide new, top-end Android (or other mobile platforms, too) smartphones.
I think the other piece of good news would come in the movement of the wireless technology, too. Would Sprint actually use the GSM network? And more to the point, would the company utilize the HSPA+ network that T-Mobile is so ready to tout as 4G? Or would the T-Mobile customers be folded into the CDMA-based Sprint network, forever asked to leave their GSM technology and SIM cards in the past?
Anything is possible, and right now it’s all just conjecture. Rumors and speculation stacked on more rumors and speculation. But, there’s always some fun to have in wondering and guessing as to what could happen. Let me know in the comments below if you think Sprint’s rumored purchase of T-Mobile USA would be a good idea, or if you hope this one’s nothing more than a rumor that will never come true.
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