Telecommunications has changed a lot over the last the last decade. Now, access to telecom services seems to be everywhere. However, with only a handful of distinct companies, competition is fierce. Now that Sprint and T-Mobile are merging, the pool of providers has shrunk even more. What will the effect be on the market and on the consumers?
We asked members of the Forbes Technology Council for their thoughts on what this merger means for the industry overall. While the reviews were somewhat mixed, it seems inevitable that developments will happen faster and there will be both gains and losses for consumers.
1. Less Overall Value
When T-Mobile was a smaller company, it had to offer attractive pricing for customers to compete with other telecom giants. Now that it's gotten bigger and became a giant in its own right, I expect less attention to customer needs and more attention to financial results for better stock performance. - Michael Fimin, Netwrix Corporation
2. Increased Growth
The merger of these two telecommunication giants has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it can be a cost-effective method to fuel expansion and increase growth, diversify the companies and lead to an increase in research and development. On the other hand, the merger can lead to monopoly power and higher prices for consumers as well as further dissociation to communicate and coordinate. - Alexandro Pando, Xyrupt
3. Faster 5G Expansion
With their combined bandwidth, we should expect a faster rollout of their 5G internet. The expansion of faster internet will provide better education and remote job opportunities for those in areas that may be stuck with slow speeds and high prices such as rural areas. As someone who has a fully remote workforce, I'm always championing faster-speed internet rollouts. - Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
4. Fewer Options
It boggles me that antitrust regulators are even considering a merger of this caliber. There are only four wireless choices right now when you overlook discount services that are tethered to and serviced by the major carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Reducing this number to three creates a wireless services industry that reminds me of what led up to the Bell System breakup. - Michael Gargiulo, VPN.com
5. More Added Value
The potential merger between T-Mobile and Sprint will have a resounding effect on the telecommunications market. With the race for 5G being the finish line for a variety of telecom companies, this now means that it's likely that all providers will be very competitive to gain market share in addition to providing more added value. A golden age of telecommunications is right around the corner. - Donald Hawkins, CitySmart
6. Less Competition
AT&T and Verizon will feel the competition since this newly merged entity will be playing on a level field with the big two. However, at the same time, there will be no competition for tier two, where T-mobile and Sprint were. So, customers can expect to get lower prices from AT&T and Verizon as compared to their current prices but slightly higher prices for the new entity as compared to T-mobile's or Sprint's current prices. - Vikram Joshi, pulsd
