FCC gives their blessing to T-Mobile and Sprint merger
T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, has been trying to find a buyer for T-Mobile USA for the longest time ever. In the past, we’ve seen them try to merge with other US carriers such as AT&T, only for the deal to fall apart. Later on, we saw them try to merge with Sprint but that did not go through due to regulatory hurdles, but it wasn’t too long after that T-Mobile tried again.
The third time seems to be the charm because while the hurdles are still present, it seems that things are moving along smoother than before. In fact, just recently, the FCC has given the merger their blessing. While it seems that there is a good chance that this deal could go through, it has been pointed out there is a chance it might not.
This is because some FCC Commissioners are still speaking out against the merger. This includes Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, with the former issuing a statement that reads:
“We’ve all seen what happens when markets become more concentrated after a merger like this one. In the airline industry, it brought us baggage fees and smaller seats. In the pharmaceutical industry, it led to a handful of drug companies raising the prices of lifesaving medications. There’s no reason to think this time will be different.”
They are not alone in resisting this merger either as eighteen attorney generals have filed multistate lawsuits in an attempt to block the merger. Whether or not they will be successful remains to be seen.
Source: Engadget