Sprint has been hemorrhaging money and customers for years. I have no idea why this merger is being fought. It’s not like Sprint is a real competitor.<p>But back on topic: Boost is just an MVNO running on Sprint’s CDMA network. What worse combination of technology can you have than being on Sprint’s network and CDMA?
Boost is an MVNO that runs off of Sprint's networks today, but the sale of Boost is a commitment [1][2] T-Mobile made as part of their efforts to get the FCC to approve their merger with Sprint, with some very generous terms.<p>Remember that with LTE, there's no longer a divide between the GSM camp and the CDMA camp; it's the same LTE, although each carrier operates on various bands.<p>With the merger, and as phone firmwares are updated and incompatible handsets are cycled out, the combined LTE network is compelling. With Boost's current target market of urban youth, the fact most current Boost phones only support the Sprint's CDMA2000 3G and not T-Mobile's GSM-flavored 3G is less of an unfortunate fit than with a more general MVNO.<p>[1] <a href="https://newtmobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FCC-Filing-May-20.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://newtmobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FCC-Filing...</a> [2] <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://newtmobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FCC-Filing-May-20.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://newtmobile.com/wp-cont...</a>
I wonder if Amazon or the T-Mobile/Sprint side leaked this? Perhaps T-Mobile/Sprint weren't eager enough to sell, so Amazon wants the regulator to know an offer was made.
This would be a win-win. Tmobile and Sprint get their merger and a bucketload of cash to build out their 5G infrastructure. Amazon gets to piggyback off of their network and potentially claim some wireless spectrum.
I'm sure Amazon has evaluated every company that's available for sale at some point, but I'm willing to bet that's as far as their interest in Boost goes. This deal makes very little sense for them.
I didn't realize Boost mobile still existed. Would be interesting to see Amazon build a google FI competitor which also rides on t-mobile spectrum in the US.
I doubt they want to start a cell company, more likely it is to have favorable terms for embedding 4G into Echo devices, making car and portable echos possible. They have done this for years w/Kindle, which would also benefit.
I'm honestly curious why. Boost is the worst major MVNO of the worst major carrier. I feel it would be less expensive to build an MVNO from scratch than it would be to try and improve that image..
Maybe cause they don't have any sustainable Revenue to justify their UNGODLY stock price? And, now need to compensate.<p>Let's not forget Microsoft was at $65 the majority lf their life.
I wonder how much they would save running all the Kindles over their own network (MVNO or not) instead of paying AT&T millions of dollars per month.
Its not just AMZN, other media giants are also interested in buying assets from the merged company to start another provider. If thats the case I would be OK with merger going ahead.
"It was not immediately clear why the largest U.S. online retailer would want the wireless network and spectrum."<p>I think we can wager a few guesses.