U.S. mobile buyouts may meet their end in 2013

December 25, 2012

After starting amid the smoldering ruins of AT&T and T-Mobile USA’s failed merger, 2012 ended as a big year for mobile carrier deals in the U.S., and possibly a final changing of the guard for a long time. If all the reshuffling that operators agreed to in 2012 becomes a reality, 2013 will see a competitive second-tier carrier absorbed, the country’s struggling No. 3 carrier rescued by a foreign suitor, the world’s biggest WiMax operator swallowed up and a venerable brand name banished to the history books. The complicated U.S. mobile market needs some consolidation in order to keep AT&T and Verizon Wireless in check, according to industry analysts. Their biggest rivals, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA, are now on a path to greater strength that is likely to continue in 2013, and that should be good news for consumers, they said. That’s why the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission are likely to bless carrier consolidation in 2013. “What all of this is aiming at is strengthening T-Mobile and Sprint,” Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner said. “The FCC is afraid of the two larger carriers being too dominant.” AT&T and Verizon, with about 106 million and 96 million subscribers, respectively, far outweigh the smaller players. Sprint has about 56 million subscribers and T-Mobile has about 33 million. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2023219/us-mobile-buyouts-may-meet-their-end-in-2013.html