T-Mobile CEO: A merger with Sprint would help fight 'duopoly'

T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in an interview with Bloomberg that a merger of his company with the Softbank-held Sprint could put more pressure on what he called the "duopoly" of AT&T and Verizon. SoftBank Corp., Sprint's majority owner is in discussions with T-Mobile USA for the duo team.

"If the government wants us to have a competitive environment, you are going to make sure that the duopoly doesn't use their prowess to crush the little guys and have this sub-1 GHz spectrum be moved all to them," he said. "We either need more spectrum and capability, a lot more investment, or we need consolidation".

The company fights the competittion with different strategies. To attract customers to their network, T-Mobile is offering defectors as much as $450 in credits. It also pays early-termination fees when subscribers break their contracts to join T-Mobile. Most of T-Mobile's strategy has focused on undercutting the mobile plans offered by rivals, raising the specter of an industry price war.

An eventual deal between Sprint and T-Mobile would face an uphill battle with regulators, analysts say. Regulators at both the FCC and Department of Justice have indicated that they would prefer to maintain four national operators. Further, it seems unlikely the FCC would approve a merger that would reshape the industry before crucial spectrum auctions scheduled to start next year.

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