Sprint & T-Mobile merger likely to be announced this month

Late last month we reported on the possibility of a Sprint and T-Mobile merger, reducing the number of major carriers in the US down to just three. Talks were confirmed at the end of September and it looks like the merger could be announced as early as the end of this month, when earnings are posted.

A report from Bloomberg says that both sides are conducting their final due diligence for the merger in order to decide on the exchange ratio to determine the value of Sprint. That’s one of the last steps toward finalizing the merger. SoftBank is expected to accept a valuation of Sprint’s current market price, which is estimated to be around $29 billion.

A look at the combination of Sprint and T-Mobile’s network provides some idea of what the coverage map would be for the new T-Mobile with Sprint under its wing.

While this paints a new picture of coverage, even when the merger is announced (and if it goes through), it’s doubtful that Sprint and T-Mobile customers would notice any change for the foreseeable future. Both Sprint and T-Mobile currently use different LTE bands and 2G networks, so integrating the two would take a few years.