T-Mobile and Sprint have announced their purpose to sell Boost Mobile if their 26.5 billion mergers go through, and it seems like there is an unlikely candidate to pick up the MVNO: Amazon. A report from Reuters indicates the retailer is interested in purchasing Boost Mobile in the combo, mainly because it might come with the ability to utilize T-Mobile’s system for six years. The unnamed sources claimed the company could be interested in the spectrum that the newly-merged set would have to divest.
Amazon has attempted to get into the mobile business earlier, and it wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see it include wireless into the package of services it provides. What makes this quite puzzling is that Boost Mobile is Sprint’s MVNO, and it does not use any of T-Mobile’s wireless spectrum. That said, the U.S. Justice Department is interested in maintaining the status quo with four national carriers, which could likely involve both carriers divesting a range.
Amazon could face lots of competition to get Boost from companies rumored to be prepping bids like pre-paid carrier Q Link Wireless, Boost founder Peter Adderton along with several cable firms and private equity groups. But promoting Boost Mobile into Amazon might be T-Mobile and Sprint’s best chance at fulfilling the Justice Department’s alleged demand that the two help create a new carrier. And if there’s 1 thing which Amazon is quite good at, it’s fulfillment.