SoftBank, the Japanese carrier set to buy a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel Corp would not rule out making a competing bid for MetroPCS Communications. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son told the paper that his company wouldn’t rule out any other deals even as it works to close the transaction with Sprint.

“We shouldn’t rule out any opportunity or alternative,” Mr. Son said.

In a separate statement, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile was possible in the long-term, but that Sprint had its focus on overhauling its network and closing the deal with SoftBank. Hesse says that a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint would create a “more formidable” competitor to Verizon and AT&T.

All things considered, it’s going to be an interesting 12 months in the US wireless industry.

Wall Street Journal