T-Mobile USA to expand through mergers, auctions

Nov 18 2005 - 11:22 AM ET | T-Mobile

t-mobile tT-Mobile International announced recently that T-Mobile USA will expand via acquisitions of both companies and spectrum. This further dispels rumors that the company was for sale because of the expense in upgrading to 3G. Several billion dollars have been earmarked for the expansion.

Analysts believe T-Mobile USA will be very active in a 3G spectrum auction in the summer and a buyout or two of a regional carrier. T-Mobile USA is less than half the size of its closest national competitor.

Some industry insiders expect the company to make a WiFi push during 2006 to help make up for an absent 3G network. Since T-Mobile USA operates thousands of WiFi hotspots around the country, it's a very plausible scenario.