T-Mobile and Sprint are in merger talks again
T-Mobile and Sprint are in merger talks again, according to Bloomberg News. This anti-competitive deal would combine the third-largest and fourth-largest wireless companies , resulting in massive job loss, higher prices, and less innovation in the marketplace. T-Mobile and Sprint are notorious for slashing jobs, offshoring work, and abuse of workers’ rights.
T-Mobile and Sprint previously discussed a merger in 2014, but never reached a deal after the FCC and Department of Justice expressed serious concerns about a merger that would reduce the number of U.S. wireless carriers from 4 to 3. The 2014 deal was opposed by the Communications Workers of America and ver.di, a union of 2 million service workers in Germany, where T-Mobile’s parent company is based.
It’s not clear where the T-Mobile and Sprint merger talks will go. Masayoshi Son, CEO of Sprint’s corporate parent SoftBank, has indicated a willingness to give control of a merged company to T-Mobile. A number of analysts believe T-Mobile will sit this one out, waiting for a combination with a cable or satellite company. And questions remain about regulatory approval. Consumer groups like Free Press have already indicated their opposition to a T-Mobile-Sprint combination. And former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler weighed in with an op-ed. "Consumers lose when companies no longer need to compete on price, quality, service and contract terms," Wheeler wrote along with former Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. "Once competitors are allowed to consolidate, the bell cannot be unrung. Short of a massive breakup effort, the reduction in competition is permanent."
Links:
Sprint and T-Mobile are reportedly in merger talks again (Washington Post, May 12, 2017)
CWA: end of Sprint bid for T-Mobile is good news for workers, consumers (Speed Matters, Aug. 7, 2014)
Sprint/T-Mobile Merger Would Destroy Wireless Competition, Kill Jobs and Harm Low-Income Families (Free Press, May 12, 2017)
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