U.S. Justice Department 'Leaning Against' Approving T-Mobile/Sprint Merger

The United States Justice Department is "leaning against" approving the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, reports Bloomberg.

The merger might not be approved because the two companies "don't go far enough" to resolve antitrust concerns raised by the U.S. government.

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Bloomberg's report comes shortly after United States Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai said that he would recommend approval of the merger between Sprint and T-Mobile.

T-Mobile and Sprint have implemented changes to their merger to allay concerns, including the sale of Boost Mobile, a three-year buildout of a 5G network, and a pledge not to raise prices while the network is being built, but these steps may not be enough to earn approval.

Back in April, there were reports suggesting the DoJ had told Sprint and T-Mobile that the merger would not be approved as it was originally structured, which prompted the plans to sell Boost Mobile.

Sprint and T-Mobile first announced a merger agreement in April 2018, but the completion of the merger requires the government to approve the deal. A merger between Sprint and T-Mobile would combine two of the four major carriers in the U.S., and it would use the T-Mobile name.

The two companies would have close to 100 million customers, putting it second only to Verizon. The U.S. DoJ is concerned the deal would be a major threat to competition.

Sprint and T-Mobile planned to have the merger completed no later than the first half of 2019, but that date was pushed back to late July earlier this year.

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Top Rated Comments

btrach144 Avatar
80 months ago
Wow, this is turning into a drama. Personally, I think it should be approved. Sprint will fail soon. Why let them turn into dust?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rk-apple Avatar
80 months ago
I normally don’t like big mergers. But this one I am for. I think AT&T and Verizon are not focused enough on the consumer. T-Mobile gets it. My family of four saves easily $60 per month with T-mobile over AT&T. And much better customer service. The merger should help T-Mobile compete.

And, T-mobile’s 5G service runs very much differently than that of AT&T or Verizon. That is good competition, and the merger should strengthen T-Mobile’s ability to compete in the 5G future.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
80 months ago
how exactly? t-mobile is actually the one carrier that is making vz and att give customers more bang for their buck.


The U.S. DoJ is concerned the deal would be a major threat to competition.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jlseattle Avatar
80 months ago
Haha, they didn't pay the right people the right amount of money. The orange monster needs more money! Maybe this is a shot across the bow of the telecoms to pony up more money and favors for approval.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Breaking Good Avatar
80 months ago
If FCC approves and DOJ doesn't I would suspect the next stop is court where the DOJ would have to explain how this affects competition.

I'm looking forward to hearing the DOJ explain how consumers would be helped if Sprint failed as a business.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
80 months ago
Good. These wireless companies have too much pricing power.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)