If the AT&T deal fails, what’s next for T-Mobile?

AT&T’s $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA isn't over with the Department of Justice’s decision to file suit against the merger. But it raises a lot of new uncertainty around the deal and the possibility that it might not go through at all.

So what happens to T-Mo if AT&T’s can't buy it? Here are some thoughts on possible outcomes: 1) T-Mobile could go it alone -- with the $3 billion break-up free and spectrum promised by AT&T, 2) Sprint could make a play for T-Mobile, but the DoJ suit suggests that Sprint may face similar opposition if it tries to go after T-Mobile but even a combined Sprint/T-Mobile wouldn't rise to the level of a No. 2 carrier, 3) T-Mobile could end up being an appealing pick-up for one or more cable companies, 4) A private equity firm could look at taking on T-Mobile, and 5) Deutsche Telekom could sell off T-Mobile in parts.