Sprint is set to focus on infrastructural investments after its consolidation talks with T-Mobile came to an end with no deal being agreed, SoftBank founder and Chief Executive Officer said on a Monday earnings call. The Overland Park, Kansas-based wireless carrier chaired by Mr. Son is now set to increase its yearly network spending to up to $6 billion in total, SoftBank CEO said, signaling that Sprint’s efforts on this front are about to become significantly more aggressive; the company’s current network budget is in the range of $3.5 billion and $4 billion, with some industry watchers previously suggesting that the firm ought to ramp up its investment efforts in order to utilize its spectrum holdings more efficiently. Sprint’s parent appears to agree with that assessment, though its planned increase may have grown even more after it became apparent that no deal with T-Mobile will be realized anytime soon.
Even a network budget of $6 billion wouldn’t put Sprint on par with T-Mobile, with AT&T and Verizon spending significantly more on their infrastructure on an annual basis, though the move is described as one of the first steps in the wireless carrier’s efforts to continue growing on its own following unsuccessful merger discussions. In the same vein, the company announced an MVNO agreement with Altice USA earlier today, and while it explicitly stated that the newly introduced partnership wasn’t dependent on its talks with T-Mobile, the timing of its reveal was likely meant to offset some negative effects that the failed tie-up negotiations are having on its stock value. Despite confirming a major collaboration with one of the largest cable companies in the country, Sprint’s stock is presently plummeting, being down over 12 percent compared to how it closed on Friday and trading for just over $5.80 as of Monday morning.
T-Mobile is also expected to ramp up its network commitments in the short and medium term following its unsuccessful attempt to merge with Sprint, with the two possibly being involved in an infrastructural investment war, according to some industry watchers. While announcing the end of their tie-up talks, both companies said they’re still open to consolidations going forward but were unable to find enough common ground in this particular scenario.