Sprint completes Nextel Partners acquisition - now at 51m subscribers

i'll admit, it's interesting to read through everyone's opinions.

but what about a uscc/alltel merger? just wanted to throw that out there.

 

If Alltel bought US Cellular or Vice Versa you will have divestment in All markets that US Cellular got from Alltel in (Nebraska, and Kansas) plus some markets in Iowa, Wisconsin, North and South Carolina. It would be an easier one to do compared to Alltel buying Sprint.
Alltel could continue to grow and not be boughtout for a long time.

 

I think Alltel should get a hold of Cellular South (Mississippi), Bluegrass Cellular (Kentucky), and Appalachian Wireless (Kentucky). This would give service in many places where they need it so that they can connect more of their areas of service. Alltel could even possibly pick up Alaska DigiTel or ACS in Alaska.

I think Unicel and Dobson should MERGE/BUYOUT something, then gobble up some of the smaller locally owned carriers!

T-Mobile needs Suncom.

 

I agree that somebody needs to get CellSouth, but I don't know that it is a good fit for Alltel...too much cellular overlap in markets with few competitors. Also, I don't think that CellSouth has any interest in selling out. If they did though, they'd be a perfect fit for Verizon, who has very little spectrum in Mississippi (where the bulk of CellSouth's holdings are).

 

What the U.S. market needs is focus. In my opinion it has been too fragmented for too long; not only in terms of differing standards, but also in the case of small(ish) regional networks. A regional network may offer an extra choice for some customers, but in terms of overall competition it's the national networks who are able to offer an extra choice for all customers.

I'm not sure how popular this view is, but wouldn't it be better for the U.S. market if there were no regional networks? Four national networks is fine for ensuring that there is competition, especially since there is an even balance of the number of national networks using the two main standards.

Where the real competiton come sin is when the saturation point is reached; networks can't rely on signing up brand new customers when everyone who can have a mobile has a mobile. Rather they have to compete more fiercely across all the sections of the mobile market; price; handsets, network quality; etc.

 

I think the question that has to be asked though, is how many of the Nextel people will stick around and for how long. This has always seemed like a strange pairing to me, with totally different technologies involved. I know a lot of Nextel users who are looking to jump ship as soon as their contracts expire. Lots of issues with coverage in this area, and they have no desire to just switch over to Sprint. No loyalty there.