SoftBank CEO and Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son is on the campaign trail, working and pushing regulators to allow a merger of his Sprint mobile operator and T-Mobile in the United States.
He argues that doing so would give rise to new competition in a wireless sector that has largely been dominated by AT&T and Verizon in recent years.
Although he did not mention T-Mobile by name at Re/code's Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Son was outspoken of his admiration of T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
As of the time of writing, Japanese media are reporting that a deal is in the works and the two sides are currently in negotiations.
Legere has since responded that he feels the same way in what many observers believe could be a precursor to the companies merging. And the SoftBank CEO sees the positives of the still-future deal for customers.
At the conference, Son -- who goes publicly as Masa Son -- lashed out at the main operators AT&T and Verizon, arguing they have a pseudo-monopoly on the market and that if his company and T-Mobile were to merge, it would help to increase speeds and lower prices. It would be a win-win, he argued.
"We're going to provide better speed and lower prices," he vowed in his comments, which did not specifically name T-Mobile, but were apparent in his discussion.
He pointed to the stalled expansion plans for Internet and wireless capacity, a move that companies have largely failed to join. Son believes that all Americans have a right to Internet access.
"At my home in Silicon Valley I say, oh my god," he said. "How can America live like this?"
He was also outspoken on the threats to net neutrality and urged regulators and companies alike to battle against the ongoing controversy surrounding the future of the Internet, although his own company later issued a statement that sounded a little like a critique of its CEO.
"Both Masa and Sprint support the concept of an open Internet in order to drive innovation in the U.S.," the SoftBank company said. "Masa was not, however, suggesting hypothetical commitments to a merger that doesn't even exist and his comments should not be interpreted as such."
That should not come as a surprise that Sprint is battling against its new owner, who has only been at the helm for six months, but has grand plans for the mobile carrier.
"It takes a few years to build. We have to design the network," he said. But still, Masa Son is looking to expand and T-Mobile appears to be the natural partner.
