Enterprises as well as consumers should take note of the announced merger of Sprint and SoftBank. The $20b infusion of cash, along with a string of Sprint press releases, show a reawakened and more assertive wireless company. The US mobility news for some years now, has been centered mostly around Verizon and AT&T. Of course RIM also has been in the headlines lately, but that’s pretty much about their slowly fading fortunes.

SoftBank’s move into the US market using Sprint as the front door could be very exciting, although there are plenty of naysayers out there pointing to the dismal track record of Japanese companies investing in US firms. Some are saying that the difference this time will be the president and founder of SoftBank.

Masayoshi Son’s reputation in Japan, although unknown here, could be a blessing for the US mobile market unless the two big US players take notice and move to blunt it. Referred to as the Bill Gates of Japan, Son sees an opening here with faster data speeds and has already proven to be a viable David against the Goliath’s of DoCoMo and KDDI. (The Verizon and AT&T of Japan).

Why is this of interest? Because we could see a strong third wireless provide in the US that could finally bring true competition and a welcome breathe of fresh air. Not only in terms of more bandwidth, but new types of phones that we can’t even imagine because we’ve never seen them here. Consider that by far, the majority of phone users in the Asian Pacific market use mobile phones over landline – like up to 70%. In the US, it’s about half that.

Another possibility is more choices for service providers and more competitive pricing. Aside from T-Mobile and MetroPCS, which are great companies, but lack the reach needed for enterprise customers on a wide use basis, there is only Verizon and AT&T.

ClearWire plays into this as a Wi-Max provider and the leading spectrum option that’s still available. Sprint currently owns 48% and is making bids for a controlling interest to TimeWarner and Intel. This will accomplish two vital objectives: 1) Give Sprint voting rights on their board, and 2) Ensure ClearWire continues to build out its 4G network in more markets. This also offers some alternatives to local broadband Internet access options that is sorely needed.

All of this, if the planets align, will be good for both the consumer and the business customer. The Sprint-SoftBank merger is projected to close mid-2013 and I would expect a full year or two before the US market starts to see a noticebale shift, although Sprint’s new found vigor could make higher profile headlines sooner.