Almost as soon as they began, any hopes of a Sprint merger with Charter Communications were quashed after the cable company said it had no interest in combining with the struggling wireless provider, preferring instead to stick with an existing mobile virtual network operator agreement with Verizon Communications.
Charter had inherited the MVNO after its purchase ofTime Warner Cable in May 2016.The company had expected to launch a wireless service over Verizon’s network next year.
Talk of the new deal came as anexclusive negotiating period,largely believed to be around another MVNO, between Sprint, Comcast and Charter expired. Earlier this year Sprint and Comcast entered into a wirelesspartnership agreementthat in part prohibited either company from making a transformational wireless deal for one year without the other’s consent.
In a statement, Charter spokesman Alex Dudley said the cable operator has “no interest” in a deal with Sprint.
