Also, another way it can work out if they move to LTE is start transforming the iDEN Nextel towers that they plan to kill by 2013, and use the 800mhz as a 4g LTE network. If they merge, there will be lots of spectrum but it's all about the incompatible technology. Now Sprint has stated they have a way of using LTE and Wimax on the same cell sites but I'm not too sure about HSPA and GSM. Also, what name is more popular. Would they keep the Tmobile name or the Sprint name? Funny how right now Sprint is getting the Nexus S, and Tmobile already has it. Tmobile should merge with AT&T. Or sprint with Verizon.
I imagine they would keep the T-Mobile name and link up with T-Mobile globally. As a long-time T-Mobile customer who also has a lot of experience with Sprint, I used to want TMo to stay independent. But their service has tanked and I believe the two need each other to survive. A merger would be messy, tick a lot of people off and boatloads of customers would leave for the big two (maybe myself included). But it might be the only option. Of course, if they execute it like Sprint & Nextel, it could end killing the only competition the big two have in a shorter period of time than if they stayed separate.
Hopefully they keep CDMA if they do. CDMA is better than GSM is so many ways from a technical standpoint, you can thank Ericcson (who ironically now manages a CDMA network-sprint) for suing Qualcomm back in the day and talking mess about CDMA and saying it would never work. You can also thank Europe making it illegal for carriers to deploy anything that isn't GSM. Couple of other keynotes? Dropped calls on att? Ring a bell? Wouldn't have happened on sprint/vzw. Want to know why? Cdma towers have about 3x the call capacity per tower vs gsm towers. That's a lot... also, with cdma, your call is routed to two three towers that are in range, if one tower drops off, (I.e. driving or on a train) the other towers seamlessly pick it up and your good to go. With gsm, your call only gets routed to one tower at a time, thus making tower handoff much more difficult to say the least. Especially when your on the fringe of two or more towers with equal or fluctuating signal. Dropped call city!
Being a t-mobile customer, their customer service is outstanding...that being said, Sprint has cheaper plans and my concern is compatability, but there are a lot smarter people than I...
Compatibility is the main issue now, however in the future if LTE pans out the way it should for these two companies, they will have the potential to compete with the big boys.
This is back on the table. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/softbank-gets-closer-buying-t-181936591.html Please do not happen. What T-Mobile has done for consumers since the AT&T merger failed is awesome. Uncarrier 4.0 is coming up in January.
T-Mobile "sucks" so much for me that I want them to stay independent and continue their present course.