So - and going back to what you said about the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, yes, the U.S. And when we are talking about building physical infrastructure, we are talking about tens of thousands of mobile antennas. Secondly, to start building up your network, you have to build the physical infrastructure. You could not really become a player with your own infrastructure because first, you need to purchase spectrum and the actual frequencies. RASCOE: So how could you make it more competitive?ĭROSSOS: Well, that's the problem that - the mobile industry, the wireless industry, is a market with very high barriers of entry. Consumers are getting much more for their money. It's clear to us from a price point of view, markets with at least four are more competitive. And one-third tend to have four or more mobile network operators. If you look at European and OECD wireless markets, what you will see is that two-thirds of them - or a bit less than two-thirds - tend to have three network operators - that they have their own mobile network infrastructure. Is that the optimal way to arrange a wireless telephone and data market?ĭROSSOS: Well, you know, it is quite a typical way that markets are structured. And in fact, America really has three main cell phone companies - Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile - and then you have a bunch of smaller companies that piggyback off of the physical network that these other companies have. RASCOE: So Mint was already using T-Mobile's network. For example, they could make the service to be a 3G service while, at the moment, Mint Mobile service comes as 5G, meaning the latest technology. What I want to say about that - even, let's say, if T-Mobile were to retain the $15 per month, there is many other details - there's many other restrictions that they can impose even though the monthly price is the same. RASCOE: That - no one ever reads that stuff, so (laughter).ĭROSSOS: We do. RASCOE: So that's not actually necessarily a benefit for the consumers.ĭROSSOS: And to add to that, there is the many footprints, small print, and caveats and footnotes that usually, offers comes with. If two network operators that are merging are promising to keep prices flat, well, that's not good enough, you know, because prices are falling anyway. It's been about three years now, so what do we know?ĭROSSOS: It is important to note that these promises - actually, they are not significant, and in practice they don't really make a difference into the market because what is important to remember is that mobile prices, both the monthly prices and, as well, the unit prices, meaning gigabytes, have been coming down. RASCOE: Back in 2020 when T-Mobile bought Sprint, there was a promise to keep Sprint's prices in place for three years. RASCOE: T-Mobile says they'll continue to offer Mint's cheapest plan, which costs $15 a month, but does that indicate to you that this merger may be a good thing for consumers - that they'll still have this ability to get these really, really affordable plans for those who need them?ĭROSSOS: My personal assessment is that probably T-Mobile is looking to rationalize the, you know, pricing in the market by removing a competitor that has lower prices than them. What could it cost you? Antonios Drossos is a managing partner at Rewheel, a mobile data strategy firm, and he joins us now. The deal could cost T-Mobile as much as $1.35 billion. And the Ryan he's talking to, of course, is Ryan Reynolds, part owner of Mint. That's T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announcing T-Mobile's acquisition of Mint Mobile. ![]() Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.MIKE SIEVERT: Ryan, we are so happy to have you and the whole Mint team join the T-Mobile family. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Note check messages in Reddit's Chat feature which is different from their messaging feature. u/MintMobileAlex is a shared account for tier 2 customer care representatives at Mint Mobile, and they usually get back within 3 hours during normal business hours (5am-7pm PST). If you have an account or service question/concern, call customer support at 1-80, use use chat in Mint App or Website Help Center, or DM u/MintMobileAlex and be sure to include your account/order number, telephone number, and explanation of the issue. ![]() This includes info and troubleshooting guide on: connection issues, APN, SMS/MMS/RCS/iMessage issues, WiFi, website issues, where/how to buy phones, phone and device compatibility, dumbphones, Apple Watch/SmartWatches, coverage and speed, security and MFA, taxes and fees, MintMobileAlex, Mint in general, Ryan Reynolds, Ultra Mobile, about this sub. Please first read our sub's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) as this answers most of user's questions posted in this subreddit, and is constantly being updated.
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