Masayoshi Son, the current CEO of Softbank, is looking to save the United States from its broadband issues but in order to do so, Softbank-owned Sprint would need to merge with T-Mobile. This is the case that he tried to make during a speech at the US Chamber of Commerce.
By merging with T-Mobile, Sprint would be able to compete against the other wireless broadband providers thereby getting rid of the current monopoly or duopoly that exists in many areas of the country. Allowing Verizon Wireless and AT&T to continue ruling without any real competition from the smaller carriers will result in prices remaining high, according to Son.
It’s not the case that American consumers pay more because Americans use more data – Masayoshi Son
Since there is no reason why Americans should have to pay such an exorbitant amount of money for mediocre service, Son says that if a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile were to occur, a price war would come as a result.
This argument is similar to ones that have been made in the past, but giving a speech at the US Chamber of Commerce shows that Son is serious when it comes to the merger, despite opposition from many parties. So far, regulatory bodies have suggested that a merger would not be possible between the third and fourth largest carriers in the country.
Following his speech, Son told reporters that due to its negative cash flow and small size, Sprint would not currently be able to start a price war by itself.
We have the spectrum; we have the technology. But we need scale efficiency to make an investment in the network. We can start a small fight but it does not scale, it does not last, it’s not sustainable…We need to have a real fight — a long and deep and heavy fight. And for that we need scale. – Masayoshi Son
Summary: Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son made a new case for a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile. He said that if a merger were to occur, Sprint could start a massive price war and help US consumers.
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