There have been rumors of two cable giants, Sprint and T-Mobile, combining their efforts and merging to form a deal for further development. The drawbacks are that Sprint has a low customer retention rate, and that the entanglement of their parent companies comes at a premature time. T-Mobile would need to get shareholders involved in the deal, and Deutsche Telekom would need to sign off on the merge, being T-Mobile’s superior. SoftBank will also be involved, seeing as Sprint is one of their many subsidiaries.

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Another Merger Attempt

This merger was also attempted in 2014, which would have combined the two carriers into one and eliminated competition. However, due to T-Mobile’s success and the turbulence of other top carriers, Sprint’s potential to regain their traction is hanging in the balance. Their customer engagement does not match their numbers, which makes the merge a gamble in some respects.

Changes in Service?

As it stands, T-Mobile and Sprint are the third and fourth largest carriers in the United States, behind AT&T and Verizon. For phone services, this means fewer decisions in choosing a carrier, or a potential change in an existing provider. For anyone already with one of the two, the policies and plans would not see too much change, with T-Mobile leading much of the charge.

This is not the only merger rumor that has sprung up in the past couple of weeks. AT&T and Time Warner Cable, two pioneers in their fields, are also discussing joining forces to change the definition of Internet use as the world knows it. It would go down as one of the biggest mergers in history. Right now, everything is under speculation among various news sources, but there are many potential issues that could arise from this merger.

The Problem with Massive Mergers

The main issue with a massive cell phone merger is that it further gets rid of competition. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint already control the mobile carrier market — they even control the cell service of alternative mobile carriers. Less competition typically means higher prices for plans because these companies are in control of the market.

Coming out in early 2017, the Saver feature will be seamlessly applied to most of the service’s popular data plans for free. It’s meant to save customers on data by providing DVD quality streaming on wireless devices — such as phones or tablets — so users can still do all the things they love without paying for it dearly and without having to upgrade.

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Also, for those who prefer not to have features parentally imposed on them, the Saver still leaves choice in the hands of the consumer. For instance, while standard definition streaming economizes data, maybe you really want to see Lord of The Rings in high definition. Let’s be real, the legendary paradise of Lothlorien is just not the same without it. In such a dire scenario of necessity, the Stream Saver has a control setting that allows the user to turn it off at any time. So while leaving the feature on will guarantee you get the most bang for your buck — as the Saver is designed to help data-thrifty users — it also isn’t something the consumer is forced into for their “best interest.”

That said, how about users with unlimited data plans? Sadly, and less reasonably, the Stream Saver will automatically apply to them too. The last thing unlimited data subscribers want is to have their HD throttled. The fact that the move casts such a wide, illogical net (because if you have an unlimited plan, then obviously you want high definition all the time) implies that AT&T is trying to conserve data as well. Buyer beware: this is something you can certainly choose to opt out of, as mentioned previously, but it is also something you have to be aware of.

For their part, AT&T should be alerting their users about the Stream Saver roll out, preferably with an informative description. Additionally, users incur no penalty for switching the feature off. So for users with data-conservative plans: this will be a boon to using your devices on the go with less concern. Conversely, those with data-liberal or unlimited plans should keep an eye out for the update and plan accordingly. Happy streaming!