1. And Then There Was Three…
T-Mobile and Sprint are in the works of a marriage. They tried to tie the knot back in 2014, but Obama-era trust regulators said ‘not today,’ so they have decided to give it another shot with a $26.5B merger deal. Ad Age’s George Slefo reports that the company will operate under the T-Mobile brand name and be valued at $146B. As the third-and fourth-largest carriers in the U.S., the move hopes to accelerate deployment of 5G technology, lower prices for consumers and create new jobs.
2. Modern-Day Pandora’s Box
Sometimes Twitter can be like opening Pandora’s Box. This particular box is the Cambridge Analytica scandal as Twitter confirmed selling data to the company’s top researcher, Dr. Aleksandr Kogan. However, it’s no secret that Twitter sells API access to large organizations or enterprises to survey opinions during various events or around certain topics.
A Twitter spokesperson said, “Twitter has made the policy decision to off-board advertising from all accounts owned and operated by Cambridge Analytica. This decision is based on our determination that Cambridge Analytica operates using a business model that inherently conflicts with acceptable Twitter Ads business practices.”
(Source: TechCrunch)
3. One Step Closer to Liftoff
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ founded private space company, successfully conducted its eighth test flight in Texas this morning. The launch included crash dummy Mannequin Skywalker who will gather data on astronaut telemetry and a sensor suite that collects data on pressure, noise and environmental data in the capsule. This makes it one step closer to bringing passengers into space. CEO Bob Smith says he plans to bring passengers into space by 2019… paying customers that is. Ticket costs are not on the market yet, but competitors are currently charging up to $250K for a similar experience.
(Source: The Verge)
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