T-Mobile, Sprint in $26B connection

T-Mobile and Sprint are teaming up to take on Verizon and AT&T.

After years of failed attempts, the wireless providers announced Sunday a $26 billion deal to merge into one telecommunications juggernaut.

If the merger is cleared by US regulators, the new company — which will be called T-Mobile — would be well-positioned to compete with the country’s top two wireless providers.

T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere, who would head the new company, said in a statement that the move would create the highest-capacity network in the country and improve service in rural areas.

“We’re confident that, once regulators see the compelling benefits, they’ll agree this is the right move at the right time for consumers and the country,” Legere said.

Legere and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure — who will serve on the board of the new company — appeared together in an upbeat video posted on Twitter announcing the merger, a far cry from the hostilities the pair exchanged on the platform in the past as rivals.

In 2016, when both companies were rolling out unlimited data plans, Legere and Claure exchanged verbal blows, with Claure calling TMobile’s offering a “crappy plan” and calling Legere a “con artist,” while Legere hit back by saying that Sprint’s deal was a “copy-paste.”

Now, the companies argue that the merger will allow them to accelerate upgrading their networks to accommodate the next generation 5G wireless technology, which is expected to have the speeds necessary to power drones and self-driving cars.

Both Sprint and T-Mobile are far behind Verizon and AT&T in the 5G arena.