There was a distinct sense of déjà vu on reading reports that Sprint might, yet again, dodge a merger with T-Mobile USA, and instead team up with one or more cablecos, most likely the largest ones, Comcast and Charter. Sprint has flirted with the cable operators for over a decade, and the logic for a tie-up remains as strong as ever. But is it likely that a deal now would fare better than the joint venture between these parties over a decade ago? In 2005, Sprint formed a $200m joint venture, Pivot, with four cable operators – Comcast, Cox, Time Warner Cable and BrightHouse (the last two now part of Charter). This included MVNO agreements, cross-marketing arrangements and grand plans…