Hesse says T-Mobile-Sprint combo makes sense if both decide on LTE for 4G

As we reported, Sprint has talked publicly about developing an LTE network, perhaps even co-existing with the carrier's current WiMax pipeline. If that does occur, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, star of stage, screen and T.V. commercials, says that there would be "Logic" in a merger between T-Mobile and Hesse's Sprint. The Pin-dropping network is seeking out bids from contractors to build out an LTE network. The executive told the Financial Times, "We have the spectrum resources where we could add LTE if we choose to do that, on top of the WiMAX network,” he added. “The beauty of having a lot of spectrum is we have a lot of flexibility." Potential suppliers to Sprint include Huawei, Motorola and Samsung.

Back in 2008, T-Mobile's parent company, Germany's Deutsche Telekon considered buying Sprint and merging it with their U.S unit. They decided not to pursue a deal because of the different 3G pipelines both employ. But with Verizon Wireless and AT&T, the top two carriers in the U.S. by size, picking up market share at the expense of the nation's third and fourth largest carriers (Sprint and T-Mobile respectively), a merger between the two could form a company that could challenge the leading carriers. A deal might also help out T-Mobile as the company is said to be short of spectrum necessary for 4G services. However, even though DT CEO René Obermann has said that there will be no multi-billion euro deals this year, when it comes to the world of M&A, money talks and if it says the right numbers, anything could happen.

source: FinancialTimes