Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests cell phone question

Originally posted by sigma:

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Originally posted by Nightwolf:

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Not going to happen, the towers arent compatible, the sprint towers are PCS and the verison towers /phones will can't comunicate with them, like trying to get a cat to bark ya know..

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Verizon has been trying to get their hands on Sprint's PCS Technology for some time. I wouldn't doubt doubt it if a buyout was rumored.

With Cingular and AT&T merging to be far and away the largest cell provider, Sprint and Verizon have been left on the wayside. There's little doubt that it would be approved. As long as there's at least 2 companies to pick from in most of the nation the government isn't going to step in.

It certainly wouldn't be worse than Cable providers colluding to stay out of each other's regions leaving most of the nation with only a single cable provider to pick from.

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Sprint and Verizon phone are VERY compatible with each other. Both are CDMA networks. Sprint's is slightly more advanced, but it's pretty much minor. PCS = Brand name, not a technology.

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Cingular and VW are very close to one another in size, the difference is just a few million. Sprint is far behind, and while the Nextel will pretty much double their numbers, they're still a distant 3rd.

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And no, Verizon is not buying Sprint. They can't. Competition will be down to 2 major players (Cingular will have no choice but to respond with buying T-mobile, and they'll want to sell, they'd be a speck at that point)

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AND Verizon's parent company has said many many many times they will not allow a bid on Sprint.

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PCS isn't a Technology?

PCS is the technology that everyone uses. Everyone digital anyhow which is most everyone thesedays. It encompasses everything from CDMA, TDMA, and GSM. It's a fancy term for "Digital Cellular". And, yes, Sprint leads the way in the US in digital (PCS) technology and the research of new technology. Particularly in regards to 3G.

PCS is a brand-name, yes. But the technology was aroung long before Sprint decided to use it as a brand-name. It would be like if Western Digital wanted to start calling their hard drives "WD RAID Drives" -- that doesn't mean RAID isn't a technology anymore.

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Not close if "a few million" equals about 10 Million -- almost 25% more. And growing incredibly fast. Much faster than any other provider is growing. Verizon could buy out Sprint and still not be as big as Cingular/AT&T (or right at, hard to tell exact numbers). Although with the addition of Nextel with Sprint provided everything goes as planned they will be about 10M bigger than Cingular AT&T.

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Competition being down to 2 players has nothing to do with it. Lots of industries are down to 2 players. And throughout the nation many people only have a choice of one provider of household utilities like cellphones. Power, Cable, Water, Gas -- throughout much of the nation these are absolute monopolies. The government isn't going to step in at all if there's at least 2.

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Really?

Didn't take long to bring up these two snippets from Wall Street Journal.

In the wake of the SBC and AT&T announcement, people close to Verizon say information gathering and due diligence has begun this week, though no formal discussions have been initiated. Representatives from Verizon have declined to comment.

Verizon Wireless has gotten the OK from partner (and wireless giant) Vodafone to make a bid for Sprint. Verizon Wireless and Sprint use the same wireless technology (CDMA) making a merger seemingly more simple than with Nextel.

Couldn't find anything about Verizon management stating otherwise. On the contrary, they've been discussing this with their partner company (who would have to pay almost 50% of the outlay) for some time.

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Verizon unlikely to bid now for Sprint, sources say
By Jessica Hall, Reuters
PHILADELPHIA ���?� Verizon Communications has no imminent plans to bid for Sprint, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday, lifting a potential obstacle to Sprint's bid for Nextel Communications.
Separately, Britain's Vodafone Group (VOD) denied it was in talks with Verizon (VZ), its wireless joint venture partner, about any offer for Sprint (FON).

The two developments appeared to contradict a report earlier Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal, which said Verizon had received the backing of Vodafone to make a bid for Sprint in a move that could thwart Sprint's $35 billion bid for Nextel (NXTL).

A deal between Sprint and Nextel is expected to be announced Wednesday, sources familiar with that deal said.

Verizon has no plans to thwart that deal with a rival bid, people familiar with the matter said.

Verizon declined to comment. Sprint and Nextel could not immediately be reached for comment.

"You'd have to be foolish to be betting on Verizon jumping in this week with a splashy bid. It's just not the read anyone is getting," said a trader who specializes in takeover stocks.

Verizon has studied Sprint and weighed its options, but the regulatory hurdles and expected complications of spinning off overlapping assets would make the deal onerous and time-consuming, people familiar with the matter said.

"We believe a Verizon/Sprint deal would face significantly greater regulatory scrutiny than a Sprint/Nextel deal, given Verizon Wireless' size and the FCC's concern about wireless market power coming under greater (Baby Bell) control," said Prudential Securities analyst Christopher L****n.

New York-based Verizon is "worth keeping an eye on but there's a lot of pieces that need to fall into place perfectly for it to happen," a source said.

Verizon would be better off buying wireless spectrum at a Federal Communications Commission auction in January rather than dealing with the hassles and costs of buying Sprint, a second trader said.

That auction will feature 242 wireless licenses covering key markets like Los Angeles and Orlando and will likely attract bidders such as Verizon Wireless, the venture between Verizon and Vodafone, and its competitors.

Verizon, of course, could change is strategy and make a move for Sprint, sources said. If that were the case, it would need the consent from its British partner before rolling Sprint's wireless phone assets into their Verizon Wireless joint venture.

"If they do decide to go after it, they will come and talk to Vodafone," a source said.

Vodafone, the world's largest wireless telephone company, also said it had no plans to launch its own bid for either Sprint or Nextel, the No. 3 and No. 5. U.S. wireless telephone companies, respectively.

Such a move would have marked Vodafone's second takeover attempt this year in the U.S. wireless market. In February it made a controversial, and ultimately failed, bid for AT&T Wireless.

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