T-Mobile considering acquisition of Sprint

appleinsider.com

3 pointsmakecheck1 comment

"Such a merger would be difficult, as the two carriers operate on different style networks. AT&T and T-Mobile share a GSM network, while Sprint, like Verizon, operates primarily as a CDMA network"

Seems like deja vu all over again. I seem to remember Sprint merging with Nextel for the same reasons, and with the same network-incompatibility hurdle. I think a T-Mobile/Sprint Merger is a bad idea, for the same reasons Sprint/Nextel was a bad idea.

At best you'll alienate a lot of customers if you go with one technology: GSM-loyalists would lose their international travel ability if they go with CDMA, while CDMA fans won't be able to roam in Mexico/Caribbean, to Verizon in the US, or use the fast EVDO data network. At worst, they'll struggle to maintain two incompatible networks.

We saw the mass exodus of Nextel subscribers (who were cash cows) when Sprint forced users of the popular walkie-talkie feature onto Sprint's inferior Push-to-Talk service.

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