USA: SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son says he wants to change the landscape of the U.S. telecommunications and cable industries by offering faster Internet speeds and lower prices

Record ID: 565064

  • Title: USA: SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son says he wants to change the landscape of the U.S. telecommunications and cable industries by offering faster Internet speeds and lower prices
  • Date: 11th March 2014
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MARCH 11, 2014) (REUTERS) MASAYOSHI SON, JAPAN'S SOFTBANK CORP CEO, WALKING ON TO STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MASAYOSHI SON, JAPAN'S SOFTBANK CORP CEO, SAYING: "I would like to give it a shot. I would like to provide an alternative to the monopolistic or oligopolistic situation that two-thirds of the American households can get access to only one or two providers. I'd like to be a third alternative with 10 times the speed and lower the price and change the U.S. situation as I did in Japan." SON GIVING PRESENTATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) MASAYOSHI SON, JAPAN'S SOFTBANK CORP CEO, SAYING: "So I brought the network war and price war (to Japan). I'd like to bring that to the States." SON GIVING PRESENTATION SON BOWING, SHAKING HANDS, AUDIENCE APPLAUDING
  • Embargoed: 26th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Business,Communications,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA3S4Z19BK3UCZBQL9WYM4XD0HZ
  • Story Text: Calling the U.S. wireless market an oligopoly, SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son on Tuesday (March 11) said another meeting with U.S. regulators over a potential merger of his Sprint Corp with T-Mobile US Inc was needed.
    In his first public speech to a U.S. audience since Softbank's purchase of Sprint last year, the Japanese billionaire said the U.S. telecommunications and cable industries offer slower Internet speeds and higher prices than operators elsewhere in the world.
    He made a pitch for Sprint, the third-biggest U.S. wireless provider, to not only challenge its traditional wireless competitors, No. 1 Verizon Communications Inc and No. 2 AT&T Inc, but also broadband Internet providers such as Comcast Corp.

    "I would like to provide an alternative to the oligopolistic situation that two-thirds of American households can only get access to one or two providers. I'd like to be a third alternative with 10 times the speed and lower price," Son told an audience of telecom insiders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

    "I brought the network war and price war (to Japan). I'd like to bring that to the States."
    The catch is that Son's vision for disrupting what he called "pseudo competition" in the wireless industry involves more consolidation, a merger between Sprint and No. 4 T-Mobile, which has received a cold shoulder from U.S. regulators.
    The possibility of a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has received pushback from regulators, with both Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and U.S. antitrust chief William Baer expressing skepticism after Son's round of meetings in Washington in February.
    SoftBank is now focused on convincing the parties involved with the merits of a merger, a senior company executive said, adding that any moves towards pursuing a deal were now on hold. The official declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak about the matter publicly.
    Son, who once threatened to set himself on fire as he pushed Japanese regulators to let him set up a high-speed Internet service, has shown he does not give up easily.
    Son, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to make SoftBank the biggest mobile-related corporation in the world, had in the past harshly criticized U.S. mobile networks and the degree of competition in the industry.
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