Sprint CEO Says Strong No. 3 Needed Amid Price Wars

Sprint Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said the wireless price wars aren’t sustainable and show the need for a bigger No. 3 competitor in the US.

“A stronger No. 3 will get one and two to react more aggressively so everybody benefits,” Hesse said in an interview with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television.

“If you are smaller, the big two do not react as aggressively.” Both Sprint and T-Mobile posted net losses in the first quarter. “T-Mobile and Sprint have to invest more per customer in their network,” Hesse said. “Think of a nationwide network, it largely affects costs. It is like a jumbo jet. AT&T and Verizon, because of their size, can put more customers on that, and divide it among more customers and can spend more money on advertising.”