Sure, no CEO wants to commit more than $15 billion to one manufacturer. But as Sprint (S) CEO Dan Hesse says, his company didn’t have much of a choice. AllThingsD says that Hesse told a group of reporters that as much money as his company had to pay to get its hands on the iPhone, it would have been far worse off if it was the only major carrier that didn’t have Apple’s (AAPL) popular smartphone.
“I think the number-one thing was getting the call from Apple that they were interested in at least having the opportunity,” Hesse said. “We saw no reason to bet against Apple… Today, looking back, I think it was the right decision.”
PhoneScoop reports Hesse also made some interesting remarks about the recent trend toward consolidation in the wireless industry during his chat with the press. Apparently, Hesse sees no problem with mergers and acquisitions between wireless carriers, although he does think rivals AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) have grown big enough already.
“The industry has to deal with the issue of the duopoly,” he said. “The gap beween the number two and number three players is enormous. We always have been and always will be open to further consolidation, as long as it isn’t AT&T or Verizon Wireless.”
