This week, Illinois U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin has given T-Mobile the green light to appeal a potentially costly class-action lawsuit stemming from its $26 billion merger with Sprint, completed in 2020. The suit, brought forward by subscribers of AT&T and Verizon, alleges that the merger significantly reduced competition in the wireless market, compelling AT&T and Verizon to hike their …
Plaintiffs: T-Mobile/Sprint merger resulted in soaring prices and decreased innovation
In a motion by T-Mobile and SoftBank on December 5 to dismiss a lawsuit to overturn T-Mobile’s Sprint acquisition, the seven plaintiffs representing the class action said that the defendants claim that the “lawsuit seeks to turn the antitrust laws on their head.” However, plaintiffs argue that the “case involves no gymnastics.” Instead, it advances claims that go to …
2021 isn’t going to be a banner year for Sprint decoms, contractors to see surge in 2022: Sievert
During a UBS investor webcast last week, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that the carrier is taking down Sprint’s network on an “isolated basis,” but decommissioning work – the bread and butter of wireless contractors – is mostly a 2021 and 2022 endeavor. Sievert informed UBS moderator John Hodulik that T-Mobile likely will begin its serious shutdown efforts of the …
U.S. ends up in last place in the race for 5G download speeds
Compared to other countries, the U.S. has lost the race to 5G regarding download speeds offered, so much so that in some countries 4G speeds are faster than two of the three major carriers that are touting their 5G offerings. Last week the BBB took T-Mobile to task, stating that it should modify its claims to more clearly identify the metrics …
Sprint and T-Mobile settle Manhattan $2 million townhouse damage claim in a New York minute
Justice is said to be blind but no one ever said it was fast, especially in the COVID-19 era where lawsuits are causing the wheels of justice to move at glacial speeds. So a lawsuit that was filed by homeowners in June against Sprint and T-Mobile alleging that they installed 5G antennas on a Manhattan penthouse that caused damage to …
California city loses $50K in annual revenue, Yurok tribe gains cultural protection
For years, residents of the City of Trinidad, California have been objecting to cell towers located atop Trinidad Head, a scenic promontory instilled with deep spiritual and cultural importance by the Tsurais of the Yurok Tribe. Trinidad leased land to Verizon, which subleased space to AT&T and Sprint. The 20-year lease expired in 2018, but was extended to as Verizon …
Arrest made following theft of Sprint network routers that took down carrier’s service in Texas
A Texas man, possibly a Cisco certified technician, who appeared to have codes to enter cell tower sites and keys to access Sprint equipment that permitted him to steal routers from dozens of compounds was arrested Monday in Fort Worth and is currently in jail awaiting a detention hearing this morning. Fort Worth Police Detective Stephanie Phillips, assigned to the …
Internet speeds increase 15.8% on mobile with AT&T winning best in show in Q2
The reliable Q2 2020 Speedtest United States Market Report by Ookla, based upon data from over 1.6 million unique mobile user devices and 18.9 million fixed broadband devices, shows that AT&T is the fastest and most consistent mobile network, but T-Mobile has the competition beat on 5G availability. Ookla revealed yesterday that the median download speed over mobile in the U.S. …
Thousands of carrier layoffs will not impede 5G buildouts and might increase contractor opportunities
This week it was announced that AT&T plans to cut 3,400 jobs, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and T-Mobile is laying off hundreds of Sprint employees, as reported by TechCrunch. However, the wireless infrastructure sectors of the two carriers building out 5G will not be affected since Sprint’s cuts are largely from the carrier’s sales division, and AT&T’s …
Cyber attacks are ruled out as T-Mobile struggles to return nationwide call and internet service
UPDATE: June 16, 2020 – Neville Ray, T-Mobile’s president of technology tweeted at 1:03 a.m. that voice and text services are now restored. “Thank you for your patience as we fixed the issues. We sincerely apologize for any and all inconveniences,” Ray said. However, media outlets and blogs this morning continue to fan the false conspiracy flames of cyber attacks and nationwide …
Sprint’s unauthorized use of NYC townhouse’s wall should be worth over $2 million lawsuit claims
A New York City husband and wife filed a lawsuit against Sprint and T-Mobile on Monday, alleging that they installed 5G antennas without their permission and violated the terms of a contract they made with Sprint eight years earlier. According to the complaint, Sprint allegedly had previously installed a cell site on a residential townhouse immediately adjacent to the one …
T-Mobile plans for 15,000 new macro sites and $60 billion in CAPEX over the next five years
Even with COVID-19 constraints, T-Mobile is upgrading 1,000 existing sites per month and will be expanding its nationwide macro base station footprint by 15,000 towers during the coming years, said Neville Ray, the carrier’s president of technology during a J.P. Morgan investor conference Tuesday. “So far, so good,” he said. “We are ramping up in this environment and not actually slowing …
T-Mobile/Sprint merger is a done deal as Legere gives reins to Sievert
T-Mobile announced this morning that it has officially completed its $26.5 billion merger with Sprint to create, what they are calling “a supercharged un-carrier that will deliver a transformative 5G network”. The enhanced scale and financial strength of the combined company will drive a planned investment of $40 billion into its network, business and more over the next three years. …
Sprint merger ready to roll despite COVID-19 fears says T-Mobile CEO John Legere
In a message to investors today, T-Mobile announced that it is financially prepared to close the merger with Sprint and the COVID-19 crisis will not delay the deal. The carrier said that 16 banks are involved in the merger and none of them have stated that they will be unable to meet prior commitments. “I’m pleased that right now we …
Judge’s T-Mobile merger okay expected to boost construction spending
A federal judge today ruled in favor of T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint in a deal that would combine the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers and create a new telecommunications giant to take on rivals AT&T and Verizon. United States District Court Judge Victor Marrero’s decision in Manhattan, was announced regarding the lawsuit filed in June by attorneys general from …
DOJ says States thwarting T-Mobile deal disrupts U.S. merger policy as T-Mobile asks court to move forward
State officials will “wreak havoc” on companies’ ability to merge if they disagree with federal regulators and block deals on their own as 10 states are trying to do with the T-Mobile/Sprint marriage, the chief antitrust official of the Justice Department said during a speech to the Media Institute in Washington D.C. yesterday. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim’s surprising swipe at …
Ninth inning for T-Mobile merger begins Wednesday with closing arguments
Final arguments in the T-Mobile-Sprint merger lawsuit are slated for this Wednesday and it’s expected that U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero will issue a ruling in February. Last week, states suing to block the $26.5 billion mega merger said in a filing that the deal’s previous approval by the Justice Department and the FCC shouldn’t carry any weight in deliberations …
T-Mobile axing its projects led a baker’s dozen top news stories during 2019
The top stories in 2019, according to Wireless Estimator readership analytics, followed previous years’ subject matter favorites based upon the site’s in depth and exclusive articles as well as its comprehensive coverage of industry fatalities. T-Mobile’s unexpected new build cancellations in August came in first with 41,362 views. However, a Crosby product recall in November for certain 7/8” shackles surprised …
Afraid of having its contractors fail or bolt, Sprint introduces its ‘Same Day Pay’ financing program
Stating that it was concerned that it might not be able to maintain 5G construction crews, Sprint has unveiled its all-new ‘Same Day Pay’ financing program, providing day-of compensation to its 5G network builders and suppliers by shortening administrative overhead and collapsing the overpayment process as far as it can go. The Sprint ‘Same Day Pay’ program is a part of the …
After T-Mobile throws contractors under the bus it provides lofty merger promises
When T-Mobile announced its new commitments Thursday to sway legislators to put pressure on 10 state attorneys general to settle their Sprint merger lawsuit, one of its top initiatives upon completion of the merger, was to create more job opportunities than either standalone company. The new employee count is impressive, an additional 11,000 by 2024. However, the Communications Workers of …
