Sprint Stock Gets Pummeled by AT&T and T-Mobile Tie Up: Could Google Buy Sprint?

Well it seems that Sprint may be the odd-man out if the AT&T and T-Mobile gets through the Justice Department.

A combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would put almost 80 percent of the nation’s wireless market in the hands of just two companies: AT&T (NYSE: T), which has 1,000 employees in the Raleigh-Durham region, and current market leader Verizon Wireless, which also has operations in the Triangle. AT&T is buying T-Mobile from its parent Deutsche Telekom.

This leaves Sprint with like 10% of the market which is pretty crappy. They would be able to compete by dropping their prices but I'm not sure how long that would last. A price war in the Telecom space would probably leave them on the ropes. One thing that I found interesting is that Sprint was announcing a closer partnership with Google a day after the mega-deal.

“As part of our partnership with Google, our customers will appreciate having the easiest set-up experience of any wireless carrier for Google Voice across all of our CDMA phones, using their existing Sprint phone number,” said Kevin McGinnis, vice president-Product and Technology Development, Sprint. “It’s now easier than ever to truly live a mobile lifestyle with the ability to manage multiple devices through intelligent call routing and online controls using just one phone number – your existing Sprint number.”

This announcement is just small potatoes between Google and Sprint but what if this partnership started to blossom? I mean Google could swallow up Sprint for the price of $13 billion which is less than half of the $39 billion AT&T/T-Mobile mega-deal. Google has $34 billion in cash on their books so they could conceivable do an all cash deal.


What would Google get other then the 3rd place wireless carrier and $20 billion in Sprint debt? Well first they would be able to have total control over the marketing of Android phones. A retail outlet for Google products whatever they may be. I'm not sure if this is a great thing but it is an outlet if they want to go head-to-head with Apple in that space. A place to buy all-Android phones and apps in the mall might be attractive to some.


The true plum that could be worth $13 billion is their access to Sprint's bandwidth.

Unbeknownst to most, all of the Kindle downloads on Amazon's white-hot e-reader go through Sprint's network, and given just how successful that little venture has been, the carrier is hoping to expand its revenues from wholesaling bandwidth (which currently sits at just 3 percent of its total) by inking similar deals with connected gadget makers.

In other words they will own a share of the 4G wireless pipes. And that would be huge. This means they will own the most trafficked site on the Interwebs and own the bandwidth and the connection that gets you there.

In other words they can create Google Wireless. This could tie directly into a Google TV that can go head to head with the cable companies if they chose that route. Or they can just use the bandwidth and the connection to roar directly into the wireless space.

If Kindle needs a connection to download some books then Google will be the one providing the service. If you want to go to Amazon and buy some crap on an Android phone then Google will be there with the bandwidth. You can even walk into the Google Store and buy the phone and setup the Google Wireless Internet plan all at once.

I'm sure Google would have even cooler things to do with that Sprint bandwidth but you get the idea. It sure would go a long way in their battle against Apple because Google would not have to be tied to a Wireless carrier. So the latest and greatest Android phones will go right to the Google Store and get their apps and access to their Search Engine and Google Docs right off of Google Wireless. Vertical Integration at its finest. Could that opportunity be worth $13 billion?