T-Mobile in the Carolinas...Buy SunCom!

[KyleAndMelissa22]

A post about T-Mobile moving to the Carolinas area.

...

It would make sense for T-Mobile to buy SunCom.
T-Mo would finally get to be in The Carolinas.......

I wonder if T-mobile has any idea of the good it would bring for the company & it's customers.

Charlotte, Columbia, Greenville-Spartanburg, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Asheville, Tri Cities (TN), Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro-High Point (Triad) are all big metros/cities. All combined have over 10 million people.

T-Mobile would gain over 2 million customers if they bought SunCom.....

The only place where SunCom & T-mobile's coverage overlap is the Augusta, GA & Savannah, GA areas.

SunCom is the "missing puzzle piece" with T-mobile,
It seems to me like its just an ironic fact of reality. SunCom knows it.

SunCom is just a setup for T-Mobile. It's almost like SunCom is supposed to be bought by T-mobile.

Hopefully T-mobile looks at it like that too.
SunCom doesn't stand a chance, they're gonna get eaten soon.

"SunCom doesn't get it."

[PCSuser]

Originally Posted by KyleAndMelissa22

A post about T-Mobile moving to the Carolinas area.

...

It would make sense for T-Mobile to buy SunCom.
T-Mo would finally get to be in The Carolinas.......

T-Mobile has liscenses all over the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee. It is just they seem it fit to roam off Suncom because its more economical than building their own network. Suncom and T-Mobile are network 'affliliates' even though they do not advertise it; they have speical low cost roaming agreements with each other.

I wonder if T-mobile has any idea of the good it would bring for the company & it's customers.

Why should they do that when they allow customers to sign up out of area and use the Suncom network as if it where the native network.

SunCom is just a setup for T-Mobile. It's almost like SunCom is supposed to be bought by T-mobile.

But remember T-Mobile already has liscenses in all the Suncom area (almost all of them) so they would have to divest a lot of it.

Hopefully T-mobile looks at it like that too.
SunCom doesn't stand a chance, they're gonna get eaten soon.

Suncom does fine. They are slowly growing closer to T-Mobile. And maybe T-Mobile will buy their network/customers, and sell the liscenses or something like that.

"SunCom doesn't get it."

Sure Suncom 'gets it'. They understand that with signing the roaming agreement with T-Mobile that they are probably making more roaming revenue than they would ever by not having the agreement. So why sell?

So in the end SUNCOM is JUST a ROAMING NETWORK. Not much else - yeah they have a few customers here and there. But mostly Suncom is there for the sole purpose of T-Mobile roaming in the Carolinas/East TN.

Replies are in bold.

[KyleAndMelissa22]

Originally Posted by GSM4ruralareas

Replies are in bold.

I've only seen one thing available from T-mobile down here, and those are "T-mobile To Go" prepaid cards,
which are available at almost any Wal-mart or gas stations near the interstates...

There are also "any carrier cards." and could be used with any wireless prepaid service.

Originally Posted by GSM4ruralareas

they allow customers to sign up out of area and use the Suncom network as if it where the native network.

Carolina/East TN zip codes are denied on the T-Mobile website.

here's what it says for Gaffney, SC: "T-Mobile does not currently provide service in the 29341 area. However, we are continuously expanding service, so please check back again. "

[Matt]

Most of the licenses TM has in that area are for 1700/2100 UMTS service, although they do have some 1900 in east TN I think (and a saver network in Knoxville area) and some scattered 1900 in the Carolinas, but not much.

Unfortunately, speculation on TM buying Suncom has been around for many years, and they just haven't pulled the trigger.

[clock3687]

Originally Posted by KyleAndMelissa22

I've only seen one thing available from T-mobile down here, and those are "T-mobile To Go" prepaid cards,
which are available at almost any Wal-mart or gas stations near the interstates...

There are also "any carrier cards." and could be used with any wireless prepaid service.

Carolina/East TN zip codes are denied on the T-Mobile website.

here's what it says for Gaffney, SC: "T-Mobile does not currently provide service in the 29341 area. However, we are continuously expanding service, so please check back again. "

I think wed all like to see a buyout of suncom by t-mo. AFAIK there would not be many, if any at all, divestments in the carolina area. T-Mobile has 1 PCS band in the gaffney area, but it just doesnt make any sense to buildout with that little spectrum. t-mo skipped out on buying suncom when their shares were at $6. Now its near $16. The only way I see t-mo taking over is if suncom goes bankrupt, or if they want to put that 3G spectrum to good use when they decide to launch it.

[KyleAndMelissa22]

I notice on the T-Mobile coverage maps that the only service offered in NC is near Elizabeth City and the Outter Banks (Cape Hatteras area).

Both areas are not serviced by SunCom.

[BradQue]

I would certainly be interested in T-Mobile having a presence in the Carolinas. Their roaming service seems to work fine where I go (Wilmington NC to Spartanburg SC mostly) but I suspect some features available within their native coverage areas don't work or at least not entirely.

My sense is that dollar for dollar, T-Mobile is one of, if not the most cost effective mobile services available but their iffy presence in parts of the South, keeps me wondering just how committed they are to the U.S. Market.