Now that the Sprint/T-Mobile merger is officially dead and buried, Sprint has been quick to strike a new deal with a US cable company. Altice USA will start selling mobile service via Sprint's network under a new multi-year agreement that was revealed on November 5th. That's literally just one day after the T-Mobile merger was called off. With the cord cutting movement in full swing, Altice USA is expanding into the wireless market in an attempt to retain more customers.
Altice USA is the fourth largest US cable provider and will use Sprint's network for voice and data services, although no starting date has been announced. The company currently provides internet, TV, WiFi and phone products. The deal will also help Sprint as they tap into Altice's cable infrastructure for cellular data and push forward with developing a 5G network. Marcelo Claure, Sprint's President & CEO, said, “As content and connectivity continue to converge, we believe this approach will be a model for future strategic arrangements across multiple industries including cable, tech and others.”
The Sprint/T-Mobile merger would've created a very large wireless carrier that could've cast a shadow on Verizon and AT&T, but with the deal called off, Sprint is back in fourth place. It will need to work fast to try and keep up with the other three networks or risk falling too far behind. Verizon and AT&T are still the top dogs, but T-Mobile has found a lot of success in recent years with aggressive pricing and unconventional marketing.
Source: Sprint
