Amazon Eyes Boost Acquisition from T-Mobile: report
Amazon.com Inc is interested in buying prepaid cellphone wireless service Boost Mobile from U.S. carriers T-Mobile US and Sprint, Reutres reported on Thursday.
Boost is currently one of Sprint’s prepaid brands. A possible deal would allow it to use the new T-Mobile’s wireless network for at least six years.
Amazon would also be interested in any wireless spectrum that could be divested, the report said.
Amazon declined to comment.
Amazon has already been building experience by offering phone calls through its Echo Connect product, which uses a person’s home phone service and allows an Alexa-enabled voice-activated speaker to make phone calls.
Amazon has become one of the Big Four technology companies along with Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc and Facebook Inc, and is a leading cloud services provider.
T-Mobile and Sprint have already pledged to sell Boost as part of measures to reduce their market share in the prepaid wireless business and gain regulatory approval for their planned $26 billion merger.
The U.S. Justice Department would need to scrutinize the buyer of a divested asset to ensure it would stay viable and preserve competition.