Potential Sprint merger paints picture of telecomm future

Although no official talks are happening, Sprint chief executive said on Thursday that the cell phone carrier would be a stronger if it merged with a cable company, setting some tongues wagging at the prospect of a multi-platform service provider that includes cellular service, according to Reuters.

When asked about swift acquisition activity of U.S. cable companies Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) and Suddenlink Communications by newcomer Altice NV (ATCA.AS), Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure stated that the union would make the company “a stronger and more formidable competitor,” especially as the customer war amongst cell carriers is heating up.

Altice’s founder, French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, responded “Someday,” when asked about the potentiality of acquiring a wireless carrier in the future. Altice executives are hopeful of providing US customers with a wide range of services including cellular phone coverage sometime in the future.

Because of an aggressive price war with Verizon Communications Inc(VZ.N) , AT&T Inc (T.N) and T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.N), Sprint Communications has hit a rocky point in their investment history.

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp(9984.T)raised its stake in the wireless company in August to 82 percent, up 2%, through a share purchase, boosting the value on the market for the struggling U.S. wireless carrier.