T-Mobile/Sprint merger from a spectrum perspective?

[npaladin-2000]

I keep thinking about this deal and I'm trying to figure out how these two fit together spectrum-wise. Sprint owns 800 MHz, 2.5 GHz, and 1900 MHz licenses and towers....the only one of those with immediate value to T-Mobile is 1900 MHz. T-Mobile themselves are building out AWS (1700/2100 bands) and their 700 MHz blocks as LTE. They're converting the 1900 MHz towers to HSPA+ but it seems to be for legacy purposes, would they really take Sprint's CDMA towers and convert them to HSPA+? Not too sure about that, though I suppose the extra licenses might be handy.

And what do they do with the other bands? 2.5 GHz is extremely short range, AWS and PCS would be better, maybe they'll choose to divest it. I suppose the blanket 800 MHz network might be a nice complement to the 700 MHz block, nice long range for additional rural coverage maybe? It's a unique band though, their others are shared with AT&T reasonably well now, finally (both are building out LTE in the 700 MHz and 1700 MHz ranges, and HSPA+ on the 1900 MHz. Add in 2100 MHz for T-Mobile LTE, and 850 MHz for AT&T HSPA+ and a pentaband phone will work with both carriers when all is said and done. With the market finally consolidating around the 700 MHz and AWS bands I'd really hate to see things start to fragment again.

So what happens to those Sprint frequencies? Should T-Mobile use them? Sell them? What?

 

[ReuvenNY]

One more thought - how the CDMA and GSM technologies are going to work together? Would the combined company use GSM or CDMA?

 

[IAmSixNine]

T-MO will do what they are doing with MetroPCS. Start to migrate customers to the GSM/LTE network and begin to phase out CDMA.
MetroPCS LTE network was already compatible if memory serves correct.
Sprints build out of LTE can be fixed to work with Sprint and TMO LTE as long as the band is correct for each customers hand set.
Also as an industry CDMA is kind of going away. Globally GSM / LTE is pretty much the standard. So it would make sense to phase out Spirnts CDMA network in favor or GSM and update Sprints LTE network to favor TMO.
But theres many possibilities. Not to mention technology we might not be aware of. Were talking a minimum of 1 year even IF the deal goes thru before we might begin to see network changes.
I left Sprint almost 2 years ago because of the terrible way they handled the LTE roll out in Dallas and how bad my service got with them.
I was with them over 10 years so i consider my self a loyal customer. However being with TMO i can say that after the first 2 months i was more then happy. So i have mixed feelings about this proposed merger. Part of me wants it to happen and the other part, NO

 

[npaladin-2000]

MetroPCS used/owned largely the same set of frequency spectrum. That 2.5 GHz stuff that Sprint owns though, from what I hear it's pretty worthless, they're only trying to make something out of it because they can't sell it, no one actually wants it.

 

[sure why not]

Sprint has all of Nextel's 800Mhz iDen spectrum.
They shut it down a year ago, and have FCC approval to use it for LTE.

It should penetrate pretty well.

 

[Bigballer]

Tmobile and Sprint dont have that much low end spectrum. Verizon/ATT have a huge chunk of it though.

Sprint has a few 800 mhz chunks last I checked. Tmobile has a few 700 mhz from verizon it just acquired.

But we have to wait for the FCC auctions for that killer 600 mhz spectrum. That can be a HUGGGEEE make it or break it for tmobile in rural areas/buildings.

 

[sure why not]

I thought they bought up 2.5 $B 700Mhz from VZ back at the beginning of the year???

If Sprint takes T-mob U.S. from DTAG the combined company will have about 30% market share.
As a Sprint customer I'd be glad to see them move from CDMA to GSM.

It's an interesting discussion.
I have not yet seen the FCC band plan.

 

[Bigballer]

I thought they bought up 2.5 $B 700Mhz from VZ back at the beginning of the year???

If Sprint takes T-mob U.S. from DTAG the combined company will have about 30% market share.
As a Sprint customer I'd be glad to see them move from CDMA to GSM.

It's an interesting discussion.
I have not yet seen the FCC band plan.

700 mhz is kinda all over the place right now. I think tmobile bought block a b and c of band 12. But that's only in a few areas. But that 600 mhz spectrum is gold.

As far as the merger, it's kind of pointless. Both Sprint and tmobile primarily run in the mid range spectrum (1700/1900/2100) and sprint has 2500 spectrum which is kind of useless. Sprint does have 800 mhz spectrum, but not much of it. Sprint does have a ton of spectrum, just not low end.

Neither carrier has a bunch of low end spectrum, so in the regards of spectrum, kind of pointless. However, since att and verizon basically got "blocked" from 600 mhz spectrum, it's pointing fingers for tmobile and sprint to buy.

Yes, if sprint buys tmobile, att, verizon, and sprint will each have approximately 100 million customers.

 

[sure why not]

600 meg is gold, and I think Softbank has enough liquidity to bid well.

I'm a Sprint customer now because I had a Nextel account with over two dozen lines since the early '90's
My experience is that 800 penetrates amazingly well in commercial buildings..
Can't imagine what the longer wavelength will do.

 

[Bigballer]

600 meg is gold, and I think Softbank has enough liquidity to bid well.

I'm a Sprint customer now because I had a Nextel account with over two dozen lines since the early '90's
My experience is that 800 penetrates amazingly well in commercial buildings..
Can't imagine what the longer wavelength will do.

I'm still a little uncertain how Softbank expects to both, buy tmobile, and 600 mhz spectrum. Sprint itself is barely staying afloat. tmobile is costing $40 bill and that 600 mhz wont be cheap

On top of that you have the scattered spectrum mess and the CDMA/GSM/LTE/WIMAX/Iden network that needs to be consolidated and rebuilt from the ground up, yielding to LTE only. That alone can possibly take years and years not even factoring in the 600 mhz band. And that's not even taking into account that most of sprint's backhaul still needs to be upgraded with fiber. And that fiber building itself can take a long time. Tmobile started their fiber back in 2008 and only finished it about 2 years ago.

 

[sure why not]

I didn't realize their backhaul was in such bad shape.
I live in the metro NYC area and things got a lot better around here as NV was completed.

 

[Bigballer]

I didn't realize their backhaul was in such bad shape.
I live in the metro NYC area and things got a lot better around here as NV was completed.

Even worse, not all NV upgrades are with fiber. Some are with microwave or aav.

 

[dpham00]

700 mhz is kinda all over the place right now. I think tmobile bought block a b and c of band 12. But that's only in a few areas. But that 600 mhz spectrum is gold.

As far as the merger, it's kind of pointless. Both Sprint and tmobile primarily run in the mid range spectrum (1700/1900/2100) and sprint has 2500 spectrum which is kind of useless. Sprint does have 800 mhz spectrum, but not much of it. Sprint does have a ton of spectrum, just not low end.

Neither carrier has a bunch of low end spectrum, so in the regards of spectrum, kind of pointless. However, since att and verizon basically got "blocked" from 600 mhz spectrum, it's pointing fingers for tmobile and sprint to buy.

Yes, if sprint buys tmobile, att, verizon, and sprint will each have approximately 100 million customers.

They only bought block a of band 12, and in select areas . att and others have blocks b and c. Block a is 5+5mhz

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[npaladin-2000]

Yeah they have a decent chunk of 700 licenses but it's not blanket like their AWS licenses. Which literally cover the entire USA three times over.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

 

[dpham00]

Yeah they have a decent chunk of 700 licenses but it's not blanket like their AWS licenses. Which literally cover the entire USA three times over.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[npaladin-2000]

I assume that map was their 700 MHz licenses? I use Spectrum Omega, and according to that, T-Mo literally owns the entire country's D, E, and F block AWS licenses (just like Verizon owns the entire country's worth of 700 Mhz C block...which is probably more valuable being longer range).

That's not to say they own or have built towers. But if they could build the towers they could literally blanket the country.

Nice tool by the way. Just remember remember remember, it's SPECTRUM LICENSES, and not COVERAGE.

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