Sprint's name could live on and T-Mobile will (indirectly) join forces with Best Buy on August 2
August 2 is set to be a huge day for T-Mobile, as well as the end of a bittersweet era for the US wireless industry as a whole, which will essentially switch from a "big four" carrier situation to a "bigger three" status quo, at least until Dish can find its feet in this incredibly challenging market.
But while we've been hearing whispers of Sprint's imminent death for many months now, which the "Un-carrier" finally corroborated and substantiated a couple of weeks ago, it doesn't look like the brand will be going away entirely just yet. Not everywhere, that is, with at least one major nationwide retailer tipped to keep the Sprint name alive for a while longer.
That's right, existing Sprint customers will reportedly continue to be allowed to add new lines and upgrades in Best Buy stores after August 2 without making any substantial changes to their accounts. What's perhaps more surprising to hear is that the retailer will even welcome new business from folks who are currently not subscribed to the nation's moribund fourth-largest mobile network operator.
Naturally, opening a new Sprint account basically means signing up to T-Mobile service right now, which actually brings us to arguably the most important and interesting part of today's report. If this speculation pans out, Best Buy and T-Mobile will (indirectly) join forces for the first time ever, and the retailer's customers will be able to activate their new phones on the "Un-carrier's" fast-growing network.
Magenta, mind you, has never been keen to offer its services through third-party national retailers, so this may well prove to be the beginning of a beautiful and hugely consequential friendship. At the same time, it's also possible that T-Mo will merely conclude whatever agreement Sprint and Best Buy might have signed years ago before pulling the brand and its entire business from the national retail channel for good.
Until then, expect to see a new logo and merchandising to hit Best Buy stores next week to reflect the "Sprint now part of T-Mobile" identity, as well as legacy Sprint unlimited plans to go away in favor of the unified Essentials option with four unlimited lines for $25 each per month.
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