The U.S. Justice Department is set to
decide as early as next week whether to approve the $26.5-billion merger
of wireless carriers T-Mobile USA and Sprint Corp, a person briefed on
the matter said on Friday.
Earlier this week, Dish Network Corp executives met with the Justice
Department’s antitrust chief Makan Delrahim and Federal Communications
Commission Chairman Ajit Pai as part of the government’s review of the
deal, which could dramatically reshape the U.S. wireless market.
A federal filing Friday revealed Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen was among
the executives who attended the meeting Tuesday, and the firm “discussed
its opposition to the proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile as
currently constructed.”
Dish “explained the need for a minimum of four nationwide mobile network
operators,” according to the filing, and also discussed “the impact of
the proposed merger on Dish’s market entry and its wireless buildout
plans.”
Pai agreed last month to support the merger of the third- and
fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers, in part because the firms agreed
to divest the prepaid service Boost Mobile.
Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Inc, T-Mobile and Sprint control
more than 98% of the U.S. wireless market and have wireless service
revenues of more than $160 billion. T-Mobile and Sprint combined have
more than 135 million customers, while Verizon and AT&T control
two-thirds of the total U.S. wireless market.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican like Pai, has said he backs
the merger while a third commissioner, Mike O’Rielly, said he is
inclined to support the deal.
The Justice Department wants the companies to sell off additional assets
including some wireless spectrum to create a new wireless competitor
before agreeing to approve the deal, the person briefed on the matter
said.
Though a decision could be reached next week, the person cautioned that it may be delayed.
Justice Department and FCC spokesmen declined to comment, as did Sprint and T-Mobile.
Both the FCC and Justice Department want to create a fourth wireless
competitor and Dish, Altice USA Inc and Charter Communications Inc are
potential acquirers of Boost and potentially some spectrum, the person,
who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Ten state attorneys general led by New York and California have sued the
companies and parent firms SoftBank Group Corp and Deutsche Telekom AG,
warning that consumer prices will jump due to reduced competition.
A status conference in the states’ case is set for June 21, but they
have yet to seek a court order temporarily blocking the merger.
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