CenturyLink Channel Expansion, Sprint-T-Mobile Lawsuit Among Week's Top Stories

Sprint and T-Mobile face more government opposition against their merger.

Our top five traffic-generators among this week’s new stories include channel program expansion, multiple personnel announcements, master agent M&A and the always juicy Sprint-T-Mobile merger saga.

Most of you are already in weekend mode, but check out our five most interesting stories from the last five days before you officially close up shop. And you can read last week’s recap if you missed it. We hope to see you in Washington, D.C., next week for Channel Partners Evolution.

5. CenturyLink Helps North American Partners Get Business in EMEA

The service provider is helping North American partners better serve their customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The channel program expansion gives partners dedicated account teams and support for marketing, maintenance and other processes. CenturyLink‘s vice president of indirect sales told us that the company’s channel is “starting to be pulled into different parts of the globe.”

Edward Gately has the scoop.

4. AppSmart Completes WTG Integration, Draws MSPs, VARs

The California-based master agent unveiled its new brand.

AppSmart, which AppDirect created after buying WTG and NeoCloud and merging them, is dubbed as a “channel-led, one-stop shop for all B2B technology services.” Co-CEO Vince Bradley that it is a first-of-its kind for the telecom industry.

Read more about the integration to learn why AppSmart is unique.

3. AireSpring Hires Birch, AT&T Vets as Regional Channel Managers

Rick Komon and Blake Gunn are AireSpring’s newest employees.

AireSpring, which provides managed services for cloud communications and connectivity, hired Komon and Gunn to expand business infrastructure in the respective Midwest and Southwest regions. AireSpring’s vice president of channel sales and operations said both men have strong records working with sales and partners.

Learn about Komon and Gunn and their past employers.

2. Multistate AG Lawsuit Could Thwart Sprint-T-Mobile Megamerger

A major federal agency gave a green light to Sprint and T-Mobile’s merger, but the states may not feel so permissive.

The 17th state attorney general signed on to a lawsuit protesting the $26 billion deal. A chief concern is that consolidation will lead to “reduced access to affordable wireless service,” according to the Oregon attorney general.

This comes about a month after U.S. Department of Justice approve the deal under the conditions that Sprint sell some of its resources to Dish Network.

Our resident legal expert Josh Long reported the news.

1. People on the Move: CenturyLink, RingCentral, Verizon Vets Land New Jobs

Twenty-two channel professionals started new jobs or earned a promotion in August.

Craig Galbraith assembled his monthly gallery, which runs the gamut of vendors, master agents and partners. Telarus continued its hiring streak, and IBM named a partner ecosystem general manager.

Check out Galbraith’s opus.