sprinttmobileBack in December, it was reported that Sprint -- the U.S.'s third-largest cell carrier -- was preparing a bid to acquire T-Mobile, the country's fourth-largest carrier. The deal, depending on the stake Sprint attempts to buy, could be worth more than $20 billion.

Recently, a pair of Sprint board members met with the U.S. Department of Justice to discuss a possible acquisition, reports The Wall Street Journal. The report says the DoJ has concerns over a potential deal.

The conversation, which occurred in January, signals the seriousness of Mr. Son's interest in a deal, but also underscores his highest hurdle. U.S. antitrust authorities believe the current lineup of four national carriers is important to maintaining a competitive market, and department officials indicated at the meeting that a deal combining Sprint and T-Mobile could face regulatory difficulties, the people said

According to the WSJ, Sprint has lined up roughly $31 billion in potential financing and the company is not deterred from pursuing an acquisition.

Japanese carrier Softbank purchased a 70 percent controlling interest in Sprint back in 2012 for roughly $20 billion. T-Mobile is majority owned by German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom.

Previously, AT&T attempted to acquire T-Mobile but government intervention prevented the deal from concluding. Since then, the companies have had a growing feud as they launch ever escalating marketing efforts in an attempt to poach each other's customers.

Top Rated Comments

wordoflife Avatar
146 months ago
Sprint has shown time and time again how incompetent they are. T-Mobile is actually doing well and growing at an extremely fast rate. Would hate to see Sprint get ahold of T-Mobile.

AT&T and Sprint would not be doing some of the things they are doing right now if it were not for T-Mobile's Uncarrier. Verizon will probably follow up soon with something.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kazmac Avatar
146 months ago
Good

4 companies are better than three. And I'd hate to see Sprint get T-Mobile.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tiger8 Avatar
146 months ago
Shut up, Sprint!

So Sprint cried like a baby when AT&T was to accuire T-Mo, and now they want to accuire T-Mo themselves?

Also, how many incompatible technolgies can Sprint take?

First they accuired Nextell which cost them billions of dollars in loses, then they accuire ClearWire (again, after letting go of it) and they kill it and will be phasing out its WiMax, and now a GSM carrier? Are you kidding me?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Agent OrangeZ Avatar
146 months ago
I hope a deal can be reached! :D

You like high priced wireless service?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OrangeSVTguy Avatar
146 months ago
We need as many as companies as possible. All these acquisitions of bigger companies eating up these little companies isn't leaveing much of a choice for consumers.

This country doesn't need a single Monoply for wireless service.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DJsteveSD Avatar
146 months ago
The justice dept doesn't like this merger but they let the AA/US Air one go through. hello higher airline tickets!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...