© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

4 Things You Should Know About The Sprint-SoftBank Deal

Reporter Mark Davis covers Sprint and the wireless industry for the Kansas City Star. He sat down with KCUR's Susan Wilson to discuss the details of the Sprint-SoftBank deal, and what it means for Sprint customers and the Kansas City area at large.

Here are four major takeaways from the interview:

1. Sprint customers should see better service

The Sprint-SoftBank deal is growing the resources available to Sprint to compete in the U.S. wireless market. Current customers can expect the company to use these resources to build incentives for customers of other companies to switch carriers, possibly including the expansion of a higher-speed wireless network. These incentives should benefit current customers as well. 

2. People are not expected to lose their jobs

Because SoftBank is a Japanese company, the deal is different than most mergers in that both parties do not have overlapping markets. SoftBank is in Japan, and Sprint in the United States. They were not competing before the deal was made. Therefore, there is no need to consolidate resources and jobs. In fact, the deal is expected to create jobs in the long run. Though, there is no way to tell whether those jobs will be in the Kansas City area or elsewhere.

3. Sprint will remain a separate company

Consider the Sprint-SoftBank deal as more of a partnership than a merger. The two companies are the number three wireless company in their respective countries, and have been working together for nine months now. Even though SoftBank will own most of Sprint's stock, a sizeable chunk of stock will still be open for trading, and Sprint will remain a separate company.

4. Sprint will remain a Kansas City-based company

Sprint will still be a separate company from SoftBank, and is expected to maintain its headquarters in Kansas City, and the current CEO will remain in place. Again, because this is not a consolidating merger, there will likely be no need to move resources. 

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.