Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said he expects there to be consolidation in the US wireless market and hoped that his operator would play an active role in it.
Speaking at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference in New York, Hesse wouldn’t comment on…
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said he expects there to be consolidation in the US wireless market and hoped that his operator would play an active role in it.
Speaking at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference in New York, Hesse wouldn’t comment on specific deals – a Sprint/MetroPCS tie-up has been long-mooted – and said any consolidation involving Sprint would not be simple.
“It’s not black and white,” said Hesse. “You weigh the advantages of network synergies with the operational risks if you’re currently integrating a complicated network architecture yourself.”
Hesse said he does not want to change Sprint’s network build plan until mid-2013 – by then it will largely be complete – but said that would not be a barrier to looking at a deal now as most M&A activity typically takes nine months to gain regulatory approval.
“I do think there will be significant consolidation in the wireless industry and I would hope and expect that Sprint, over the long-term, would play a very active role in that,” stated Hesse.
Hesse said that any M&A would be driven by synergies, particularly in terms of spectrum, its network, and scale.
Hesse also said that Sprint would be interested in some sort of network sharing agreement that would see the operator’s new network host the spectrum of others: “We will talk to companies, like LightSquared if that comes back, and other companies that have spectrum about hosting arrangements.”
Speaking on spectrum, he also put pressure on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding caps on how much operators could hold.
“They don’t want to be in a position where AT&T and Verizon can buy all the spectrum that comes to market – that’s an important issue for the FCC to deal with.”
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