Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) was just rumored to be under the takeover auspices of European telecom giant Deutsche Telekom. DT has been rumored to be looking strongly at Sprint Nextel to bolster its T-Mobile USA brand in the U.S. But now, that deal appears unlikely according to Thomas Weisel analyst James Breen.t-mobileusa posts
FeedSprint Nextel gets downgraded as Deutsche Telekom deal becomes more unlikely
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) was just rumored to be under the takeover auspices of European telecom giant Deutsche Telekom. DT has been rumored to be looking strongly at Sprint Nextel to bolster its T-Mobile USA brand in the U.S. But now, that deal appears unlikely according to Thomas Weisel analyst James Breen.Continue reading Sprint Nextel gets downgraded as Deutsche Telekom deal becomes more unlikely
T-Mobile's Q4 goal for Google G1 phone: 500,000 sold
According to Taiwan's CENS website, T-Mobile USA will sell half a million of the Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) G1 smartphone built by Taiwan's own HTC and sold exclusively (so far) by T-Mobile USA. Although that's not up to par with announced Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G sales, it's no slouch expectation either. When the G1 phone is released for sale on October 22, that leaves just over two months for that projected sales figure to be hit. Although the unit will cost a relatively paltry $179 with a two-year contract, can T-Mobile USA really hit that sales number? I have severe doubts, although T-Mobile USA will easily be able to start competing with established players like Apple in 2009.
Although Apple has an entire year headstart over rivals like the G1 and the Samsung Instinct, there are many customers who want the novelty of a touchscreen smartphone but don't want to be locked down into the Apple ecosystem -- even though it works very well and would serve most customers 100% perfectly.
But then again, Apple's first-mover advantage and its incredibly powerful marketing muscle may just keep it floating above the likes of the Google-powered G1 for quite some time. Google's efforts with the G1 could make it a second-tier player here while Apple dominates. That is, unless, T-Mobile USA starts off quick with half a million in unit sales this holiday season and never looks back. What is your projection?
Alltel will be more competitive in private hands
Alltel Wireless will be far more competitive following the $27 billion buyout by divisions of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Texas Pacific Group.
How fast will Alltel be able to scale its customer base and compete with the big four wireless companies? Much faster as a private company if you ask me.
Without quarterly numbers to hit, the company can pour capital into becoming what it has the potential to be and at some future time re-enter the market for the payoffs for GS Capital Partners and TPG Group. Until then, we'll all see what Alltel can do to compete with the larger carriers over time. With this buyout probably having been in the works for most of 2007, you can bet a solid plan is already in place.
With 12 million customers. Alltel is the fifth-largest wireless company behind AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile USA. It owns wireless liceneses giving it coverage area bigger than the larger four carriers, which is a huge attraction for the private equity firms who already are drawn to the red-hot wireless industry.
The upside is great for this deal since people are dropping land line telephones and moving to the wireless and Internet telephony.
Now it's time to execute.
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