Sprint could sell pieces to Comcast and Charter before attempting T-Mobile merger

T-Mobile and Sprint have been in merger talks for a long while now, but the latter may be attempting to jockey for position by allying itself with Charter and Comcast, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Details are scarce, but the deal isn’t likely to be a full-on merger, according to a Reuters source. Instead, Sprint would likely be selling a minority stake to the ISPs in exchange for providing access to its network infrastructure. Think hotspots, last mile service, non-compete agreements, that sort of thing.

The cash from the deal would allow a still SoftBank-controlled Sprint to invest a bit more, and possibly give it some leverage in its merger negotiations with T-Mobile.

Naturally the companies involved will bill this as increasing competition, but it’s really just more consolidation and lateral expansion — these companies want their fingers in every pie they see. Want Comcast to be involved in providing you with home internet, mobile service, and TV? I sure hope so, because that’s what you’re going to get!

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