Sprint and T-Mobile US recently filed their application with the FCC for approval to merge. In that application, they both state they are in a much weaker position than they normally talk about to the public. After years of tooting their horns, this other side of the same story is surprising. What does it mean?  

On the one hand, to the outside world, both Sprint and T-Mobile point to subscriber growth and numbers that look better than ever. They both talk to the marketplace about the rapid move to 5G and how they are a leader in that space. They also talk about how they will be an even stronger leader if they get together.  

On the other hand, in their FCC merger request filing, they say they are weaker than that, and in fact, they need to merge to survive as the wireless world transforms to 5G over the next few years.