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FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

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Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#21

Post by kunai »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #11

I really hope Starlink starts a boom in low orbit, low ping, internet providers... Because that's the only way we're going to see any competition emerge in wireless telecommunications. This merger is unlikely to do anyone good, IMHO, and is very likely going to make prices rise in a few years once the FTC isn't watching them. Look at the very expected level of bullshit AT&T has done with Dish Network's pricing... If…

This is a perfect example of how Silicon Valley mentality and technocratic solutions often overcomplicate, to a ridiculous degree, the mostly solved challenge of how to get obtainable and affordable high-speed internet in the United States.

It's called municipal broadband.[1] Not everything has to be disrupted the way that SF startup cats want to. There is legitimately no reason you couldn't de-privatize spectrum and return control to local stakeholders in the same manner.

[1]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/chattanooga-has-its-own-broadb...

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#22

Post by rhino369 »

kunai wrote: post #21
rubyn00bie wrote: post #11

I really hope Starlink starts a boom in low orbit, low ping, internet providers... Because that's the only way we're going to see any competition emerge in wireless telecommunications. This merger is unlikely to do anyone good, IMHO, and is very likely going to make prices rise in a few years once the FTC isn't watching them. Look at the very expected level of bullshit AT&T has done with Dish Network's pricing... If…

This is a perfect example of how Silicon Valley mentality and technocratic solutions often overcomplicate, to a ridiculous degree, the mostly solved challenge of how to get obtainable and affordable high-speed internet in the United States. It's called municipal broadband.[1] Not everything has to be disrupted the way that SF startup cats want to. There is legitimately no reason you couldn't de-privatize spectrum and…

My municipality cannot even deliver water without making our kids mentally disabled from lead poisoning. Not sure I want them with a monopoly on telecoms too.

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#23

Post by kunai »

rhino369 wrote: post #22
kunai wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a perfect example of how Silicon Valley mentality and technocratic solutions often overcomplicate, to a ridiculous degree, the mostly solved challenge of how to get obtainable and affordable high-speed internet in the United States. It's called municipal broadband.[1] Not everything has to be disrupted the way that SF startup cats want to. There is legitimately no reason you couldn't de-privatize spectrum and…

My municipality cannot even deliver water without making our kids mentally disabled from lead poisoning. Not sure I want them with a monopoly on telecoms too.

The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work. Eliminate this vicious circle and you see massive benefits; Chattanooga's municipal ISP has been extremely successful and popular.

Also, municipal broadband or publicly owned broadband would not, on its own, confer a monopoly. There are numerous examples of industries and market sectors where a public option coexists with market options. This is commonly seen as the most likely solution to the healthcare crisis in the United States today.

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#24

Post by bnjms »

rhino369 wrote: post #22
kunai wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a perfect example of how Silicon Valley mentality and technocratic solutions often overcomplicate, to a ridiculous degree, the mostly solved challenge of how to get obtainable and affordable high-speed internet in the United States. It's called municipal broadband.[1] Not everything has to be disrupted the way that SF startup cats want to. There is legitimately no reason you couldn't de-privatize spectrum and…

My municipality cannot even deliver water without making our kids mentally disabled from lead poisoning. Not sure I want them with a monopoly on telecoms too.

Texas has a quasi private electric grid. It seems like it would be a good model for data too.

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#25

Post by lawnchair_larry »

nradov wrote: post #4

I think this is generally a good thing for consumers. One strong company with a solid network can provide more effective competition against Verizon and AT&T than two weak companies with crappy networks can separately.

People downvoting this are not seeing the whole picture. Yes, 4 competitors is better than 3. The problem is that Sprint is no longer a competitor and is on a downward spiral. Without a massive cash injection, they no longer had a viable path to catch up. Their service is bad because they don’t have enough cash coming in to improve their infrastructure, and customers aren’t giving them cash because their service is bad. So they charge less, and get further behind.

T-mobile is the underdog. They are making a remarkable recovery and putting up a fight against VZW and ATT. But they still have coverage and congestion issues that are dealbreakers for many potential customers. They have already put pressure on VZW and ATT to lower prices and start bundling third party perks this year. Giving TMO an infrastructure and subscriber boost by allowing them to acquire Sprint is going to put a lot more pressure on the other two, especially once their 600mhz Band 71 rollout is done and consumers upgrade to newer chipsets that support it, essentially solving their infamous building penetration problems.

With Sprint’s assets and subscriber base, they’ll go from being the underdog to being a serious threat to both ATT and VZW. Instead of thinking that we went from 4 players to 3, think of it as though we went from 2 players to 3.

Edit: Actually it’s better than that. The approval requires TMO to provide Dish with spectrum access for 5 years and operate as an MVNO while Dish builds out it’s own nationwide 5G network to go independent. That means this deal puts 4 players in the market, as opposed to 2.75 players if it was blocked.

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#27

Post by chimeracoder »

kunai wrote: post #23
rhino369 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My municipality cannot even deliver water without making our kids mentally disabled from lead poisoning. Not sure I want them with a monopoly on telecoms too.

The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work. Eliminate this vicious circle and you see massive benefits; Chattanooga's municipal ISP has been extremely successful and popular. Also, municipal broadband or publicly owned br…

> The average American "small-government" ruling class mentality chronically starves public goods and the commons from widely available resources, and then points to the failure of said services and goods as a reason why government cannot work. Eliminate this vicious circle and you see massive benefits; Chattanooga's municipal ISP has been extremely successful and popular.

You can't just use this as a blanket defense. There are plenty of inept and corrupt local governments that are well-funded as well.

> There are numerous examples of industries and market sectors where a public option coexists with market options

It's not rightfully a "public option" if one of those is funded by taxpayer money and is capable of operating at a loss, whereas the private ones have to sustain themselves.

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#28

Post by merb »

takeda wrote: post #18
nradov wrote: post #4

I think this is generally a good thing for consumers. One strong company with a solid network can provide more effective competition against Verizon and AT&T than two weak companies with crappy networks can separately.

No it's not, now T-Mobile will have as much leverage as Verizon and AT&T and will become horrible like them. T-Mobile so far is nice here, but for example in Germany is one of the despised companies. The companies don't need to merge to become better for customers. They could for example have agreements and share their towers to improve each other's coverage.

> T-Mobile so far is nice here, but for example in Germany is one of the despised companies.

that is bullshit

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#29

Post by jawns »

freedomben wrote: post #9
spectramax wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the infrastructure cost. I use Ting in the US which uses brokered network infrastructure similar to Google Fi.

I also use Ting! Never met another person that used it. Hands down the best service plan for people that don't use much data/text/minutes. I recently switched my wife to Mint Mobile because she uses a lot of data, and so far that has been a good experience.

I'm the reverse. I use Mint and my wife uses Ting. Having previously been with Ting, I've cut my monthly bills in half, from ~$30 to ~$15, with 3GB of data a month, which is more than enough for me. Granted, with Mint you have to prepay for a year to get that rate. But it's on the T-Mobile network, and I can't complain about the coverage!

Re: FCC approves T-Mobile and Sprint merger

#30

Post by scarface74 »

pc2g4d wrote: post #19

Say it ain't so :-( T-Mobile doesn't need to merge its DNA with that of Sprint.

Seeing how well T-mobile managed the MetroPCS merger compared to the Nextel Sprint merger, I have high hopes.

Within a year or so, T-mobile moved all of Metro’s customers to its network and took advantage of MetroPCS’s bandwidth.

Sprint kept Nextel’s network limping along for years.

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