In T-Mobile/Sprint talks, getting to 4 sparks more questions than answers

Amid reports that the Department of Justice (DoJ) is exploring conditions that could create a fourth competitor if the proposed combination of T-Mobile and Sprint were to happen, analysts raised a number of questions around how such a deal might be accomplished. The starting point for the analysis by the DoJ can be found in the government’s 2011 complaint against the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile: "To replace the competition that would be lost from AT&T's elimination of T-Mobile as an independent competitor, moreover, a new entrant would need to have nationwide spectrum, a national network, scale economies that arise from having tens of millions of customers, and a strong brand, as well as other valued characteristics." There are a limited number of candidates who, with limited conditions, would meet those criteria, says New Street Research policy analysts, led by Blair Levin. Cable companies. Dish Network. But questions abound: Who gets what spectrum? How would towers and cell sites be divvied up? What are the prospects of the combined entity helping form a new would-be competitor?