KCRag Forum

bobbyhawks wrote:I wonder if this has to do with Trump's recent conversation with SoftBank. In exchange for Trump making sure the merger goes through, he claims SoftBank will invest $50 billion and create 50k jobs that Trump can take credit for.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Softbank's investment plan pre-dated the Trump meeting, and the election. Trump is just claiming (undeserved) credit for it.

No surprise there. He's very good at superficial showmanship like all right wing populists

Sprint/Softbank might have to take on $90B to get TMO including over $30B debt. Son can be a big risk taker so wouldn't be surprising if attempted, but maybe on the crazy side. Softbank just spent over $30B on a chipmaker and probably can't afford TMO anymore.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business ... 92413.html

Sprint is gaining customers on their own now. They may be better off spending on network upgrades and going it alone long term.

Sprint owner Softbank willing to cede control to Tmobile if merger goes through. Could be bad for KC if this happens, but still seem less than 50% chance for various reasons.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusiv ... 26103.html

Sprint owner may be trying to sell to Tmobile owner or Comcast. Would probably be best for KC economy if Comcast as there'd be much fewer duplicate operations. Even with biz friendly new GOP regime, could be difficult for a Sprint merger with anyone large.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/busi ... .html?_r=1

I could almost see Tmobile saying thanks but no thanks. Tmobile has really grown over the last 5 years and I think they will get even larger. The network is just as good as VZ and ATT but the pricing is what really sets them apart.

Yeah and I don't see why Deutsche Telcom (Tmobile's owner) would want Sprint's debt. Softbank (Sprint's owner) wants TMO but DT probably doesn't need or want Sprint. If Softbank gets TMO, is likely TMO leadership stays though, so bad for KC. Comcast better for KC than TMO.

So this is why KC potentially losing Sprint could be worse than the Sprint jobs themselves. It impacts the whole industry in KC metro...

The effect of any future cuts would extend beyond Sprint’s headquarters. Tracey Osborne, president of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, pointed to a stat that for every job at the Sprint campus, three more were created.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... -jobs.html

For KC's sake it would be better for Sprint to merge with a CableCo like Comcast or Charter than to merge with TMobile.

earthling wrote:Yeah and I don't see why Deutsche Telcom (Tmobile's owner) would want Sprint's debt. Softbank (Sprint's owner) wants TMO but DT probably doesn't need or want Sprint. If Softbank gets TMO, is likely TMO leadership stays though, so bad for KC. Comcast better for KC than TMO.

It's Telekom. Deutsche Telekom. Sorry to be the (German) grammar police.

I kind of wish we had John Legere running things at Sprint. The guy is a real breath of fresh air in the Telcoms. I just think he gets it and look at the growth T-Mobile has done under him as CEO.

^And it sounds like Sprint's owner (Son) is willing to give up Sprint control to TMO management if Softbank acquires TMO. But that could be really really bad for KC's telekom industry, not just Sprint. Supposedly 3 jobs created/lost in KC for every Sprint job.

Sprint and Tmobile talks appear to be on hold. Comcast/Charter looking to make a deal with Sprint, though maybe not direct acquisition.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sprin ... SKBN19I040

Best for KC probably for Sprint not to merge with Tmobile, too much overlap in operations/backoffice and potentially near zero presence in KC at some point. If a CableCo buys or partners with Sprint, more chances of long term job growth than job cuts - unless they botch it.

Looking like TMobile/Sprint will target announcing an intended merger by October.
https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... ger-thing/

TMobile CEO may lead the combined company, which could be bad news for KC unless they realize how much cheaper it is to operate in KC than Seattle.

That is if Feds approve. And if it is approved, expect more waves of questionable mergers that are bad for consumers.

earthling wrote:Looking like TMobile/Sprint will target announcing an intended merger by October.
https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... ger-thing/

TMobile CEO may lead the combined company, which could be bad news for KC unless they realize how much cheaper it is to operate in KC than Seattle.

That is if Feds approve. And if it is approved, expect more waves of questionable mergers that are bad for consumers.

it may cheaper to operate in KC, but you won't get the same level of talent who doesn't care about lower costs, does Cerner recruit any Ivy Leagers? it won't maker any difference if they were in Downtown instead of Suburban campuses, people on the coasts think they're all next to corn fields and cows, and all in Kansas

nomadcowatbk wrote:

earthling wrote:Looking like TMobile/Sprint will target announcing an intended merger by October.
https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... ger-thing/

TMobile CEO may lead the combined company, which could be bad news for KC unless they realize how much cheaper it is to operate in KC than Seattle.

That is if Feds approve. And if it is approved, expect more waves of questionable mergers that are bad for consumers.

it may cheaper to operate in KC, but you won't get the same level of talent who doesn't care about lower costs, does Cerner recruit any Ivy Leagers? it won't maker any difference if they were in Downtown instead of Suburban campuses, people on the coasts think they're all next to corn fields and cows, and all in Kansas

Cerner does quite well at attracting talent. I don't think location is as big of an issue as people think it is. Give someone the right career opportunity and the a good salary and most are willing to go about anywhere. I'm not sure attracting "Ivy Leaguers" is necessarily a key to success. I've seen a lot of grads in 30 years in the high tech oil industry and found that school of origin accounts for pretty much nothing when it comes to having successful innovative employees. There are some people you will always lose out on because of location (whether you are in KC or Seattle) but there's always someone just as smart willing to take their place.

My job hires high tech workers. On the local group level we don’t always care about the degree as much as ability.

We’ve interviewed people with liberal arts degrees and technical training before. One of our best workers started his associates while employed with us.

I imagine Amazon hiring 50k workers will treat it much the same

Certifications seem more important now than degrees with many high paying IT positions.

Sprint and KC get a bit of reprieve as TMobile/Sprint merger talks fall apart. I suspect it's only a matter of time before the next merger rumors pop up.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business ... 85571.html

Good news for KC in the near term. Not that Charter would be a whole lot better long term but if they end up merging at least it wouldn't mean huge job losses in KC (few operational overlapping jobs). Charter wouldn't likely boost Sprint much unless they take off with fixed wireless better than competitors can - and that's possible with all the spectrum Sprint has. Execution seems to always be Sprint's challenge.

earthling wrote:Good news for KC in the near term. Not that Charter would be a whole lot better long term but if they end up merging at least it wouldn't mean huge job losses in KC (few operational overlapping jobs). Charter wouldn't likely boost Sprint much unless they take off with fixed wireless better than competitors can - and that's possible with all the spectrum Sprint has. Execution seems to always be Sprint's challenge.

If Sprint must merge their best choice would be someone with a fiber network where they don't. Their cabling and spectrum are the two most valuable assets they have. With every bump in wireless speed they need to be able to push the data to their towers and if they own a parallel nationwide system by merging with Charter that helps them out a ton.