- General
- June 1, 2019
- 5 minutes read
Amazon Reportedly Interested In Acquiring Boost Mobile
T-Mobile CEO John Legere image: T-Mobile According to a Reuters report, Amazon is interested in purchasing prepaid cellphone wireless service Boost…
 |
| T-Mobile CEO John Legere
image: T-Mobile
|
According to a Reuters report, Amazon is interested in purchasing prepaid cellphone wireless service Boost Mobile from U.S. carriers T-Mobile and Sprint. The report says Amazon is considering purchasing Boost largely because the deal would let it use its wireless network for at least six years. Citing a source, the report from Reuters also says Amazon would be interested in any wireless spectrum that could be divested from a potential T-Mobile-Sprint merger.
T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to sell Boost as part of efforts to reduce their combined market share in order to gain regulatory approval for their merger. Such merger would leave the U.S. with only three wireless carriers, down from four. Several consumer advocates have voiced concerns that the merger could lead to an increase in prices for wireless users, calling for an additional competitor to be established.
 |
| T-Mobile CEO John Legere (left) and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure
image: T-Mobile
|
It turns out Amazon could be this competitor. Although Sprint — which operates Boost — has not made known the number of customers that use the wireless network, analysts at Cowen have estimated that Boost has between 7 million-8 million customers, and said that a sale could be valued at $4.5 billion if it included facilities and wireless spectrum or the airwaves that transmit data.
Why exactly Amazon would be interested in Boost’s wireless network and spectrum is not clear but not quite surprising, given the company’s history of venturing into new areas. AWS — its cloud business which raked in $25.7 billion revenue in 2018 — is an example. Amazon is also planning to launch a constellation of 3,236 satellites to deliver broadband internet from space, although the company has been beaten by SpaceX as the first to launch. SpaceX recently launched 60 out of a planned 12,000 constellation to deliver internet collection.
Interestingly, Amazon’s own satellite efforts are led by a former SpaceX executive.
