T-Mobile going under?

[mbell75]

It was listed by the Huffington post as one of 11 brands that will disappear by next year...

11 Brands That Will Disappear In 2011: 24/7 Wall Street

T-Mobile, the US wireless provider, is owned by telecom giant Deutsche Telekom. It is the No. 4 cellular company in an American market that only supports two really successful firms—AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Even the third largest company in the market—Sprint—has 50 million customers. T-Mobile had 34 million customers at the end of last year. T-Mobile only had a profit of $306 million in 2009. That was down from $483 million in 2008. T-Mobile not only faces three larger competitors, it also has to begin to offer 4G service to compete with Sprint’s new WiMax service and LTE-based products from AT&T and Verizon. T-Mobile may seek a partner to offer a 4G network, but there are no super-fast broadband networks likely to be finished before its three rivals offer the service. As it now stands, T-Mobile has no future in the US.

A merger with Sprint-Nextel has been mentioned several times. The combined company would have a customer base about the same size as AT&T or Verizon. And the transaction would probably make Deutsche Telekom a large owner of the combined operation. Another alternative would be a merger with Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobil is smaller than T-Mobile, but the Virgin brand is very highly regarded and already extends across a large number of successful businesses. Virgin Group is involved in 200 businesses around the world. Another potential buyer of T-Mobile’s customer base is Telcel, which has 60 million subscribers in Mexico, is owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, who has already began to expand his business interests of the US. T-Mobile has little brand equity in the US. Maybe Deutsche Telekom will just change the firm’s name.

 

[IOWA]

It was listed by the Huffington post as one of 11 brands that will disappear by next year...

11 Brands That Will Disappear In 2011: 24/7 Wall Street

T-Mobile, the US wireless provider, is owned by telecom giant Deutsche Telekom. It is the No. 4 cellular company in an American market that only supports two really successful firms

 

[Flirtz]

I hate T-Mobile. They aren't even a real company in my opinion. I always stuck to Verizon.

T-Mobile has bad service, bad selection of phones, and a lot of ads that LURE you into a 2 year contract. Like the "Get any phone for free, when you subscribe to a FAMILY PLAN!" Yeah, okay. Anyways, glad they're soon to be gone.

 

[IOWA]

I hate T-Mobile. They aren't even a real company in my opinion. I always stuck to Verizon.

T-Mobile has bad service, bad selection of phones, and a lot of ads that LURE you into a 2 year contract. Like the "Get any phone for free, when you subscribe to a FAMILY PLAN!" Yeah, okay. Anyways, glad they're soon to be gone.

DT was thinking about spinning Tmo off for some time, but I don't think any carrier would buy them out.

 

[Shotgunx1x]

I can see Teen Mobile being gone by next year, their service as of now can not compete with the big dogs. (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint)

 

[Vihzel]

Not surprised.

 

[TheBrit]

DT was thinking about spinning Tmo off for some time, but I don't think any carrier would buy them out.

DT have sold T-Mobile UK to Orange UK and the new combined company "Everything Everywhere" goes live on July 1.

The networks will be merged later this year (should be awesome coverage after filling in each other's deadspots) but will still exist as separate brand identities. So we will still have T-Mobile and Orange in the UK - but for how long as doubling up on retail space will soon seem wasteful?

 

[Frisco]

"Everything Everywhere?"

I'm afraid to Google that.

 

[LoyalServant]

I can't.
It's privately held and it's still profitable.
They just added 110,000 customers over this weekend alone in their big sale.

Over the years several 'analysts' have predicted that T-Mo was going under, or getting bought, etc etc.
Has not happened yet.... and I don't see it happening either due to their aggressive network expansion.

 

[OMJ]

The fact that TMobile is looking at HSPA+ instead of actual 4g technologies could cause them a lot of trouble in 2011 and beyond. I dont think they will go under next year but I also dont think they will still be around in 5 years.

 

[LoyalServant]

The fact that TMobile is looking at HSPA+ instead of actual 4g technologies could cause them a lot of trouble in 2011 and beyond. I dont think they will go under next year but I also dont think they will still be around in 5 years.

I don't think they have the cash to rebuild their network outright.
I think this 4G thing is a wash right now personally.
The HSPA+ updates IIRC just require software upgrades at existing sites so they can get a boost relatively cheaply.

Their main issue is coverage.. it's virtually all EDGE unless your in a major metro area.
Go a few miles outside of a city and your crawling.
AT&T is the same way but they are building out a lot faster than T-Mo is.

 

[OMJ]

I don't think they have the cash to rebuild their network outright.
I think this 4G thing is a wash right now personally.
The HSPA+ updates IIRC just require software upgrades at existing sites so they can get a boost relatively cheaply.

Their main issue is coverage.. it's virtually all EDGE unless your in a major metro area.
Go a few miles outside of a city and your crawling.
AT&T is the same way but they are building out a lot faster than T-Mo is.

I agree with pretty much all your points except 4G being a wash. When verizon and ATT both have LTE networks that tout speed at minimum 4-5 times faster its going to be a problem for TMO.

I think they have enough users in the cities to keep them afloat for now. The problem will be when all the users in cities start flocking to the faster networks with better coverage.

 

[Tangent]

As long as other networks keep doing a good job of irritating customers TMobile should be OK.

I refuse to do any business with Verizon since they jerked me around a couple of years ago on a DSL service I had with them. Short version: Lost connectivity and spent a month of trying to get real tech support instead of offshore script-readers, getting the problem found, and then arguing with their billing dept about how I would NOT sign up for a new more expensive contract because that's the only way they knew how to get replacement equipment installed for my line at their substation. They finally agreed to adjust a new contract's price to what I'd signed up for, and to put a note on my account to allow me to disconnect at my original end date without early penalty. Guess what note was not found in my account on that date? I canceled their DSL service and our landline through them which I replaced with TMobile's @Home service.

Several people I know that had Sprint several years back started getting collections notices for long-closed accounts that they'd paid off. Turns out Sprint was doing this to thousands of people that had left years before. Essentially they were shaking people down for around $100 in bogus charges with the threat of a hit on their credit report. For that small amount it wouldn't even be worthwhile to dispute.

AT&T of course is pretty famous for their crappy coverage...

The closest thing to a problem I've ever had with TMobile is that once when ordering our free phone upgrades their website said my wife's contract wasn't eligible for the upgrade. One 5-minute phone call later they had that fixed, the new phone ordered, and 500 free minutes added to our account as an apology for the inconvenience.

 

[IOWA]

I don't think they have the cash to rebuild their network outright.
I think this 4G thing is a wash right now personally.
The HSPA+ updates IIRC jus

I agree with pretty much all your points except 4G being a wash. When verizon and ATT both have LTE networks that tout speed at minimum 4-5 times faster its going to be a problem for TMO.

I think they have enough users in the cities to keep them afloat for now. The problem will be when all the users in cities start flocking to the faster networks with better coverage.

Since the majority of users don't rely on data too much, (are we forgetting all the dumb phones) I don't think the 4G wars will have a real impact for at least a couple of years or so.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[Woosh]

Since the majority of users don't rely on data too much, (are we forgetting all the dumb phones) I don't think the 4G wars will have a real impact for at least a couple of years or so.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

Idk...I think the customers who they can milk for more money are the ones who care about that.

I think T-Mobile has some time left in it. I highly doubt they will be gone by next year.

They are backed by a strong company and even that article mentioned a 380m ish profit last year. Its not a whole lot of bonus money for expanding the network but its also not pennies and they can probably still stay viable for the next 5 or so years.

 

[toasty]

I read this same article last year, and if history is any guide, T-Mobile is going to be just fine.

 

[big_z]

Tmobile has (well, as of late 2008 when I re-upped with them) the best rates for individual "dumb" phones. I got 600 minutes for $40/mo and nobody could touch that (although I didn't explore the prepaid phone market). Reception was generally good, very few dropped calls, decent customer service, etc. Dunno about family plans, dunno about data, but while I was on Tmobile I was pretty content.

 

[LoyalServant]

Tmobile has (well, as of late 2008 when I re-upped with them) the best rates for individual "dumb" phones. I got 600 minutes for $40/mo and nobody could touch that (although I didn't explore the prepaid phone market). Reception was generally good, very few dropped calls, decent customer service, etc. Dunno about family plans, dunno about data, but while I was on Tmobile I was pretty content.

Data is iffy.
With smartphones infiltrating they need to do something, and fast.
Voice I have never had a problem.

 

[IOWA]

Tmobile has (well, as of late 2008 when I re-upped with them) the best rates for individual "dumb" phones. I got 600 minutes for $40/mo and nobody could touch that (although I didn't explore the prepaid phone market). Reception was generally good, very few dropped calls, decent customer service, etc. Dunno about family plans, dunno about data, but while I was on Tmobile I was pretty content.

Just looked it up.

Sprint: 450 - $39.99 Free Night and weekend at 7pm

Tmobile: 500 - $39.99 Free Night and weekend at 9pm

Pretty close, the earlier N & W on Sprint make this a wash IMO

 

[OMJ]

Since the majority of users don't rely on data too much, (are we forgetting all the dumb phones) I don't think the 4G wars will have a real impact for at least a couple of years or so.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

More and more people are moving to smart phones dumb phones are very slowly going the way of the dodo bird

 

[ScuroRaven]

I hate T-Mobile. They aren't even a real company in my opinion. I always stuck to Verizon.

T-Mobile has bad service, bad selection of phones, and a lot of ads that LURE you into a 2 year contract. Like the "Get any phone for free, when you subscribe to a FAMILY PLAN!" Yeah, okay. Anyways, glad they're soon to be gone.

T-mo is the way to go, at least here in the midwest. better coverage then ATT, better pricing too. Personally, I think they currently have a better selection then ATT. I don't bring up sprint or Verizon because verizon just recently came to my area and spint has been here for years but has little stable coverage.

 

[ScuroRaven]

As long as ATT does not buy them, I am fine. in 03 I had ATT for 3 months, but my problems started when i got my first bill. they were charging me for 2 lines when I only had one, I spent over and hour disputing the 2nd phone and it was suppose to be taken care of, I paid for the service on my phone. 2nd bill came around, 2nd phone was still on there spoke with management (( or so they claimed)) was suppose to have fix, paid my part of the bill and moved on. 3rd bill was over 3k spend almost 6 hours talking to various people including corp it was all suppose to be taken care of and my account canceled. It showed up in my credit in 2006 and started getting collection calls. Called ATT, no record of my account and told me that UScellar took over those account. Called them, and they referred to cinglar, who referred me to a different ATT number. ATT said that they could not send me any of my account information without a court order, except for my billing statement. Which, of course, did not help any because the charges from the 2nd phone that i was disputing was on there. The number of that phone was not even a local area code. I contacted an attorney and they sent a letter to both the collection agency and ATT. The collection call/letters stopped and it dropped from my credit report. Bought a house in 08, was not on credit there, tried to get a small loan in summer of 09, and there it was on my credit report again.