T-Mobile USA Where You Going? NOWHERE!

• Rob Jackson
• 15 years ago

T-Mobile USA helped pioneer Android in the arms of mobile fans the world over – starting with the United States of course. But despite Android’s overwhelming success and T-Mobile USA’s headstart on adoption, the carrier still hasn’t thrived the way some had thought/hoped. As a result, rumors of a sale or spinoff have persisted.

Rene Obermann, Chief Executive of parent company Deutsche Telekom AG, put those rumors to rest several days ago by saying his company was committed to the continued success of T-Mobile USA. He also deflected the idea that a merger with another carrier such as Sprint was a possibility.

If you ask me, this is great news. Competition is healthy and right now we’ve only got 4 “major” options in the United States. A merger with Sprint would be awkward since the technology bases seem to clash (GSM/CDMA). A purchase by Verizon or AT&T would create an entity that overwhelmingly dominates the rest in carriers and again, Verizon has that technology clash issue.

Would another 3rd party NOT currently in the USA accept T-Mobile USA’s current position and take it off Deutsche Telecom’s hands? How about a cable operator? Doubtful.

I don’t see T-Mobile USA going anywhere in the near future and I think the statements made to the WSJ were more than just PR yammering. Just in case you didn’t get the reference… T-Mobile USA where you going? NOWHERE (nsfw)!