Does the T-Mobile-Sprint merger raise national security concerns?

An op-ed in The Hill suggests the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint “poses serious national security risks that President Trump, his national security team, and Republicans in Congress should take very seriously.” The article argues that the wireless companies use “Chinese equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE for devices integral to providing voice and data service.” Combining T-Mobile and Sprint, a merger the FCC and DOJ are currently considering, would benefit these equipment suppliers, which the author says are “instruments of the Chinese state.”

The op-ed concludes by calling for a delay in the T-Mobile-Sprint merger until the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) can assess the national security risks of the merger. “The FCC and DOJ should postpone any action on the proposed Sprint/T-Mobile merger unless and until CFIUS concludes that the proposed transaction does not in any way threaten our national security or the integrity of our domestic communications networks.”

Read the full op-ed here.

Link:

Sprint/T-Mobile deal must not allow China to threaten US security (The Hill, Sept. 20, 2018)