It would be in Google's best interests to acquire multiple Amazon like entities innovating in this space rather than spending $30 billion on one company just so it can be better at retail wouldn't it? Retail is messy business, I don't think it would be a good idea for Google to go down that route. Give it time, they're a big company with the funds to work this problem out themselves.
Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
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Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#22Besides everything that has been already mentioned, there's another glaring reason Google would be unwise to do this: Antitrust. Google is already being considered for an antitrust investigation by the DoJ. This makes sense, given their dominance in search and the tremendous network of complementary products in their massive ecosystem. (Note that I am not asserting that it makes sense for the DoJ to take regulatory a…
Google would get no anti-trust scrutiny for this (not that I think it is a good idea). Google doesn't have a monopoly on smart phones, so there really isn't a reason why the DoJ would really look at Google buying the number 4 carrier. Even if you note there were a mobile OS manufacturer, that owned a handset maker, they aren't overwhelmingly dominant in any of those areas. So, realistically, they wouldn't be able to use their dominance in search against any existing player in mobile.
I think the biggest reason to not do it is $30B. :)
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#23Everyone seems to want Google to enter the mobile space. However, I don't think Google buying T-Mobile would work out so well. T-Mobile has no low-frequency spectrum. Lower frequency spectrum allows signals to travel further (in real-world conditions) and offers better in-building coverage. AT&T and Verizon have most of the sub-1GHz spectrum in many markets with Sprint trying to re-farm the ~14MHz they acquired via N…
Your mention of Google's constant "toe-in-the-water" technique is a very interesting point, and is probably the biggest reason this will never happen.
It's really true how non-committal Google is with various projects, and like a research lab (not unlike the backgrounds of those who work there), they are constantly testing various proof-of-concepts to see which ones will bite. Other than search and their foray into geo, Google seems to keep playing an exploratory game where they know the desired outcome but not entirely how to get there. And they're in a great position to develop expensive proof-of-concept projects to see which gets them closer to their goals. Street View is an example of one that worked out handily but easily could have been cancelled in an alternate world; Wave unfortunately didn't make it.
It's this flat, "try everything independently" structure (with funding from some massive revenue) that makes Google a very unique and interesting company.
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#24Google doesn't operate this way, this article has no real basis. 30 Billion for being better at retail? Maybe they could take a mayor shareholder stake for influence, but Motorola is still separate and was bought for the patents. Google will far more likely create it's own carrier.
I concur. Why not spend money disrupting the industry with a decentralized service or similar instead of buying an existing player with all their baggage? Their fibre push seems to be much more the style I would expect.
Well, there is a very real problem with putting cell towers on the ground. T-Mobile has that, as well as spectrum, to offer a potential buyer. And those two things are extraordinarily difficult to build out yourself.
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#25How would this benefit the majority of Google's customers, most residing outside the US?
This would be a complete waste of money which could be invested much, much better.
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#26The top comment here is misguided at best TMobile in the uk is actually the only company that current has an LTE network.
And one of the most innovative , TMobile USA seems to be a total joke of a company that just shares the name.
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#27Why would Google want to buy a smallish network operator that only operates in one country, and unsuccessfully at that?
There's an ongoing trend on tech blogs when talking about mobile, they think that what happens in the USA is the only thing that matters (see a million posts about $100 smart phones with $2000 contracts attached). In this case, the blogger don't even seem to know the difference between T-Mobile (with 14 subsidiary networks) and T-Mobile USA, or at least never distinguishes between the 2.
If Google wants to be in the mobile network business, and that's a big if, it'll want to be in the mobile network business worldwide. Look at any one of the biggest mobile network operators [1], Google will be far more interested in them than a standalone T-Mobile USA.
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operator...
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A Google-owned T-Mobile wouldn't be pushing the envelope on coverage and that's something that the majority of Americans seem to find quite important (even if they don't venture out of their home location much). Even if they have to put up with contracts and sucky customer service and treatment by carriers. Someone with a clue should buy a carrier and push the envelope on customer service. My bandwidth is good enou…
That someone isn't Google though. Google is bad enough at customer service that they should aquire t-mobile just for the support department.
I think T-Mobile's customer service department would degrade if it were bought by Google. I don't believe good customer service is part of Google's highly-technical engineering culture, and I wouldn't expect a purchased customer service department to be allowed to retain its culture. Even if it did, would Google's executives give more attention and resources to that department than their other customer service departments?
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#29Everyone seems to want Google to enter the mobile space. However, I don't think Google buying T-Mobile would work out so well. T-Mobile has no low-frequency spectrum. Lower frequency spectrum allows signals to travel further (in real-world conditions) and offers better in-building coverage. AT&T and Verizon have most of the sub-1GHz spectrum in many markets with Sprint trying to re-farm the ~14MHz they acquired via N…
Personal Opinion:
When T-Mobile Acquired MetroPCS they paid a large cash sum, in excess of $1.5M in addition to a large minority stock holding. Deutsche has said publicly that they are interested in liquidating their stake in T-Mobile for some time, and a quasi-leveraged buyout, with the public markets providing capitalization, seems possible.
My theory is that MetroPCS essentially did a leveraged buyout of T-Mobile, ASSUMING Deutsche actually exits. Their minority share could potentially become the majority share.
This further complicates things in addition to the excellent analysis to which I'm replying :).
On the subject of MVNO's, the only major Wholesale carrier left in the US is Sprint and that's also quite interesting. SoftBank, the company which applied significant downward pricing pressure on the Japanese market, just took a 70% interest in Sprint (pending regulatory approval). Assuming this transaction goes through, it could mean that SoftBank wants to lower the retail pricing, and they've publicly made comments indicating this as well.
IF that's the case, the lower retail margins will put significant pressure on Sprint's wholesale business. It's impossible to have Retail and Wholesale priced near each other, so the likely conclusion (and what we've seen time and again in the MVNO space) is that the carriers will exercise their capricious will and jack up the rates significantly at the first contract expiration. What happens to all the subscribers that the MVNO had? Converted to the carrier; time and again this has happened.
So no, I don't think Google will be an MVNO, it's suicidal on some level to base your primary business on someone else's private enterprise IMHO.
Re: Why Google should just shut up and buy T-Mobile
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A Google-owned T-Mobile wouldn't be pushing the envelope on coverage and that's something that the majority of Americans seem to find quite important (even if they don't venture out of their home location much). Even if they have to put up with contracts and sucky customer service and treatment by carriers. Someone with a clue should buy a carrier and push the envelope on customer service. My bandwidth is good enou…
That someone isn't Google though. Google is bad enough at customer service that they should aquire t-mobile just for the support department.
That's why I said "someone with a clue." How about Apple?