@ CTIA: Carrier exec roundtable's tap dancing elephant

ORLANDO, Fla. – With the weekend “announcement” still being absorbed, the CEO’s for the nation’s three largest wireless operators took to the stage during the opening keynote at the 2011 CTIA event with moderator Jim Cramer to get some perspective on the current space.
That perspective was highlighted by the last minute withdrawal of T-Mobile USA Inc.’s CEO Philipp Humm, who, along with most of the T-Mobile USA contingent at the show, backed out of their engagements following AT&T Mobility’s announced $39 billion acquisition plan.
Cramer, who is known for his boisterous delivery on the “Mad Money” show on CNBC, did a commendable job in getting reaction from the execs on a topic that was clearly either uncomfortable for some.
Cramer asked AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph de la Vega how much of a role spectrum played in the carrier’s plans to acquire T-Mobile USA. While AT&T Mobility had noted several times the importance spectrum played in the decision during a press conference following the announcement, de la Vega added that spectrum was a big part of the deal and something that is needed to handle the growth in data usage. He added that if completed, the combined AT&T Mobility/T-Mobile USA spectrum assets would alleviate spectrum “exhaustion” for both in several markets.
While Sprint Nextel Corp. had been rumored as a strong suitor for T-Mobile USA prior to this past weekend, Cramer hit up Verizon Wireless’ CEO Dan Mead as to whether the nation’s (for now) largest operator had looked at a possible acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Mead noted that Verizon Wireless did not see the need for an acquisition and that it was confident in its current spectrum position.
Mead did note that he saw some potential for further bolstering the carrier’s spectrum assets should government regulators require divestitures by AT&T Mobility in approving the T-Mobile USA acquisition.
Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse, who seemed to be the odd-man out in both the T-Mobile USA proceedings as well as in his competitive position on stage, did an admirable job keeping the proceedings lively, kidding both Mead and de la Vega and various times during the event and drawing applause from the audience. Hesse did however take a more serious tone in noting the carrier’s opposition to the proposed AT&T Mobility/T-Mobile USA deal saying that if approved it would concentrate a vast majority of the domestic market into the hands of two operators, another comment that drew applause from the audience.
Mead took a different position on the proposed deal, saying that he did not see any competitive concerns a combination might pose to the market.