[mgrimesii]

T-Mobile, the U.S. wireless provider, is owned by telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY.PK - News). It is the No.4 cellular company in an American market that only supports two really successful firms -- AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Even the third-largest company in the market -- Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S - News) -- has 50 million customers. T-Mobile had 34 million customers at the end of last year. T-Mobile only had a profit of $306 million in 2009. That was down from $483 million in 2008. T-Mobile not only faces three larger competitors, it also has to begin to offer 4G service to compete with Sprint's new WiMax service and LTE-based products from AT&T (NYSE: T - News) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News). T-Mobile may seek a partner to offer a 4G network, but there are no super-fast broadband networks likely to be finished before its three rivals offer the service. As it now stands, T-Mobile has no future in the U.S. A merger with Sprint-Nextel has been mentioned several times. The combined company would have a customer base about the same size as AT&T or Verizon. And the transaction would probably make Deutsche Telekom a large owner of the combined operation. Another alternative would be a merger with Virgin Mobile. Maybe Deutsche Telekom will just change the firm's name.

10-brands-that-may-disappear-in-2011: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

[Artemis68]

...says a SPRINT user, lol. I'm sorry, but you guys are bleeding customers way more than T-Mobile.

I don't really know...I want to see some more numbers from T-Mobile, especially after this year once they add many more high-end Android devices. That will help. If anything, I can see someone buying T-Mobile. (Not AT&T though....I'm sure the Feds won't let that happen).

[schmidtj]

The article is a load of horse poopie written by a iPhone groupie.

[grover5]

I'm pretty sure TMobile's HSPA+ has higher speeds than Sprints 4G.

[K Bear]

The article is a load of horse poopie written by a iPhone groupie.

Agreed. How many times does this old mare need to be ridden before being put down humanely? This article is full of half truths strung together by an iPhone lemming.
If anyone should worry about their provider, it should be Sprint customers since their provider is deep in the red. T-Mobile USA may not be as profitable as the Death Star and Big Red, but they are holding their own.

[Artemis68]

T-Mobile's HSPA+ is also more widespread than Sprint's 4G. Plus, in order to use HSPA+, you just need a compatible phone...no need to pay $10 extra. :P

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[schmidtj]

I'm pretty sure TMobile's HSPA+ has higher speeds than Sprints 4G.

And T-Mobile's 1G footprint is smaller than Sprint's 4G. T-Mobile? No thanks.

[48593039584729]

And T-Mobile's 1G footprint is smaller than Sprint's 4G. T-Mobile? No thanks.

T-Mobile doesn't have a 1G network in place, fool. T-Mobile 2G coverage is larger and better than Sprint coverage and WiMAX has mile sized coverage holes in all of "covered" cities. Factor that in with a pathetic excuse for customer respect and service and what do you have? Sprint. That'll be an extra $10

[falconeight]

Tmobile Deutsche is pretty upset with its operations in the US and is working on improving. With that said Sprint/Nextel is a horrible company.

[vinmontRD]

Tmo will have HSPDA+ country-wide by year end as I recall... and it has consistently tested faster than Sprint's WiMax "4G". Also, as pointed out in the thread, there's no extra fee for it. This is just Tmo upgrading their normal network.

Every year when our contracts are up for renewal, we've checked the competition, and TMo has consistently been the best deal for us. No carrier is going to be best for everyone. In my case (central NJ, near Princeton - daily commute to NYC and travel up and down most of the eastern seaboard), TMo has been excellent overall -- great customer service, NEVER an argument over a bill in more than 8 years... UMA has been a fantastic boon for me, giving me perfect super-fast connections anywhere I have (or can locate) a WiFi network. The current lineup is pretty good, with devices like the BB 9700 and the MyTouch 3G Slide (played with one today -- really sweet). July 15th we should see the Galaxy S, and rumors all suggest we should several several great new devices by the end of the year.

All in all - I've had a choice every year for the past 8, and consistently come back to TMo. May not always be that way, but they've earned my loyalty so far, and I'm really looking forward to the way this year will play out...

[efn77mx]

Tmo will have HSPDA+ country-wide by year end as I recall... and it has consistently tested faster than Sprint's WiMax "4G". Also, as pointed out in the thread, there's no extra fee for it. This is just Tmo upgrading their normal network.

Every year when our contracts are up for renewal, we've checked the competition, and TMo has consistently been the best deal for us. No carrier is going to be best for everyone. In my case (central NJ, near Princeton - daily commute to NYC and travel up and down most of the eastern seaboard), TMo has been excellent overall -- great customer service, NEVER an argument over a bill in more than 8 years... UMA has been a fantastic boon for me, giving me perfect super-fast connections anywhere I have (or can locate) a WiFi network. The current lineup is pretty good, with devices like the BB 9700 and the MyTouch 3G Slide (played with one today -- really sweet). July 15th we should see the Galaxy S, and rumors all suggest we should several several great new devices by the end of the year.

All in all - I've had a choice every year for the past 8, and consistently come back to TMo. May not always be that way, but they've earned my loyalty so far, and I'm really looking forward to the way this year will play out...

All in all, very well said. When I returned from living in San Diego almost 2 years ago, I had to drop t-mobile because coverage in my current area was very poor. So I spent some time with AT&T and Verizon. But all the while I've kept my eye on T-Mobile to see how things progressed with them. 3 months ago I decided that I've seen enough changes in people's perception of T-Mobile, that I decided to give them another shot. Now I'm very glad I did. The coverage STILL isn't as good as say, Verizon. But for me, it's definitely more than adequate. Their 3G network may not be as grand as the other carriers, but again it works for ME. It's available pretty much anywhere I go around here.

I'm impressed with how much improvement I've seen the last 2 years, and I'm even more impressed at how quickly this company works to improve its technology. That alone earns my loyalty. All the years I lived in San Diego and had T-Mo service...I never once had an issue. It actually really sucked to be forced to give up the service when I came back here. Now thanks to all the improvements...I'm back. I really hope those rumors aren't true...T-Mo deserves better than to disappear at the hands of another carrier.

[mas3222]

Tmobile Deutsche is pretty upset with its operations in the US and is working on improving. With that said Sprint/Nextel is a horrible company.

Actually Sprint is a WAY better company than it used to be, the problem is getting people to realize it. I love Sprint have been with them since '08. Selection of phones (better now though and by the end of the year will be great), bad rep from a few years ago, stores not as commonplace as VZW or ATT, those are reasons why people will also leave. I've had more problems with VZW way more than I ever had with Sprint, that's the whole reason I left VZW.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kbz1960]

I don't live in a major market or big city. When I tried TMobile if I left town I had no coverage, not even to just make a call. That was a few years ago but I can't have a phone that only works if you're in a big city or on the interstate.

[cchmi1]

I've had T-Mobile for 4+ years. Before that Sprint. My husband has Verizon. I'd be really sorry to lose T-Mobile for 2 reasons:
1. Cost. I have 3 phones on the account (1 of which is my BBerry Curve with work e-mail and unlimited international e-mail). It's slightly more than what my husband pays for 1 Verizon phone.
2. Customer service. OMG. Verizon is just awful--try getting a person to help you (and we are very tech savvy--when we call Verizon we really need a person). My co-worker has Sprint. We got passwords to associate our BBerry Curves with work e-mail on the same day. T-Mobile customer service had mine up and working (stayed on the line while they uploaded the required software to me) in 15 minutes, whereas it took Sprint 2-3 days to get my co-worker's up and running.
Admittedly the service is spotty outside of major cities, but I routinely use the Curve WiFi--especially since no carrier has service at my house or in the central areas of my office. Whatever their shortcomings in the US, T-Mobile service in Europe is fabulous.

[kbz1960]

I'm sure WiFi works well if you're somewhere that it's available. I've yet to find a WiFi signal driving from where I live to my parents that live even further out in the sticks. In fact there is no WiFi in my town unless I use my own at home and that won't work once I leave home. There is no WiFi where my parents live.

If TMoblie would like a larger customer base they need to have coverage out in the sticks too not just in the cities.

[K Bear]

I'm sure WiFi works well if you're somewhere that it's available. I've yet to find a WiFi signal driving from where I live to my parents that live even further out in the sticks. In fact there is no WiFi in my town unless I use my own at home and that won't work once I leave home. There is no WiFi where my parents live.

If TMoblie would like a larger customer base they need to have coverage out in the sticks too not just in the cities.

I live in a town with a population of around 1500 & get at least 3 bars of EDGE in a 30 mile radius & can drive to multiple 3G areas.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kbz1960]

They must have better coverage on the east coast or your town of 1500 is a suburb. I'm not kidding as soon as I left town I had no coverage what so ever until I got back to town.

They seem to have good plans etc. and maybe their coverage is better now, nope just looked at their map still no coverage where I go.

[Gawain]

T-Mobile, the U.S. wireless provider, is owned by telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY.PK - News). It is the No.4 cellular company in an American market that only supports two really successful firms -- AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Even the third-largest company in the market -- Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S - News) -- has 50 million customers. T-Mobile had 34 million customers at the end of last year. T-Mobile only had a profit of $306 million in 2009. That was down from $483 million in 2008. T-Mobile not only faces three larger competitors, it also has to begin to offer 4G service to compete with Sprint's new WiMax service and LTE-based products from AT&T (NYSE: T - News) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News). T-Mobile may seek a partner to offer a 4G network, but there are no super-fast broadband networks likely to be finished before its three rivals offer the service. As it now stands, T-Mobile has no future in the U.S. A merger with Sprint-Nextel has been mentioned several times. The combined company would have a customer base about the same size as AT&T or Verizon. And the transaction would probably make Deutsche Telekom a large owner of the combined operation. Another alternative would be a merger with Virgin Mobile. Maybe Deutsche Telekom will just change the firm's name.

10-brands-that-may-disappear-in-2011: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Saw this article a couple days ago and quietly called BS on it. This guy's analysis for T-Mobile USA is pretty far off the mark, and the fact that he overlooked Sprint is surprising. He also has no clear understanding about how the telecom sector in the US operates, because if he did, he would know that there would be no way that a T-Mo USA/Sprint merger would be possible with Deutsche Telekom holding a majority stake, due to Sprint's Tier 1 backbone. Given Sprint's $20B in debt, and negative everything (from margins, to profits, to customers), T-Mobile just needs to keep clawing away at it, at least their numbers are positive.

The whole thing is conjecture.

[vinmontRD]

It's pretty strange conjecture at that...

TMo may be smaller than AT&T and Verizon, and there's no argument that the footprint is somewhat limited when compared against the giants. But as has been pointed out in this thread (and countless others), their coverage is fine where many of their users need coverage (as in my case), their customer service is generally excellent (and has been for years), their pricing has consistently been very competitive -- and the company is still quite profitable. The only reason for DT to consider selling TMo off would be if they felt they could make better use of the investment elsewhere, as they're clearly not *losing* money on the current proposition.

Although other carriers may leap-frog TMo down the road, their HSDPA+ capability will smoke their competitors by the end of this year, and do with without all the bandwidth saturation problems that AT&T has suffered. Combine this with some promising new devices coming out Q3/Q4, along with a very respectable offering with the BB 9700 and MT3G Slide (and Samsung Vibrant in a week) and some great pricing and profitability...and it's hard to imagine what the author of the article could have been thinking.

TMo has come a long way, and I believe DT's decision now will be figuring out what a smart strategic move with TMo will be to further differentiate the carrier in the US market, instead of just playing catchup in a market where it's all too easy to get squashed if you can't stand out with unique value.

[JustPlainJef]

I don't live in a major market or big city. When I tried TMobile if I left town I had no coverage, not even to just make a call. That was a few years ago but I can't have a phone that only works if you're in a big city or on the interstate.

I'm sure WiFi works well if you're somewhere that it's available. I've yet to find a WiFi signal driving from where I live to my parents that live even further out in the sticks. In fact there is no WiFi in my town unless I use my own at home and that won't work once I leave home. There is no WiFi where my parents live.

If TMoblie would like a larger customer base they need to have coverage out in the sticks too not just in the cities.

They must have better coverage on the east coast or your town of 1500 is a suburb. I'm not kidding as soon as I left town I had no coverage what so ever until I got back to town.

They seem to have good plans etc. and maybe their coverage is better now, nope just looked at their map still no coverage where I go.

OK. We get it. T*Mobile doesn't work for you. No one here said you had to change providers, nor did we say you had to come to the T*Mobile section and talk about how much their service doesn't work for you.

It works for me. There's only one place here in IL that I visit on occasion where I have no service. He has wifi, so it works for the 2 or 3 weekends a year that I'm down there.

[Myveggies]

TMO is the best provider for everyone that sees the "big picture", enough said...

[Simba501]

Sprint Mulling Switch to LTE and T-Mobile Merger (Phone Scoop)

[Gawain]

Sprint Mulling Switch to LTE and T-Mobile Merger (Phone Scoop)

Gotta love the rumor mills....Sprint has about $1.5B in cash on hand, and about $21B in debt, and a $4 stock price...how would a merger work (aside from the foreign entity that is Deutsche Telekom thing).

This is wishful thinking on the parts of people that think this would solve Sprint's problems. It wouldn't. In fact, one could argue it would be the end of both companies.