CA regulators to review T-Mobile-Sprint merger

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)  launched a review of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, with a decision due in the second quarter of 2019.  “The fundamental issue presented by these applications is whether the proposed merger of two of the four largest national wireless service providers is in the public interest of the residents of California,” the CPUC said in its scoping memo.

The CPUC is planning public participation hearings later this year in addition to its legal review and an evidentiary hearing in February 2019. The dates and locations for the public participation hearings have not been announced.

The CPUC review and timeline represents a setback for T-Mobile and Sprint, which are pushing for quick regulatory approval for the merger.

The memo “raises many important issues that we believe the Commission must consider to determine if this very important merger is in the public interest of millions of California customers,” The Utility Reform Network Managing Director-San Diego Christine Mailloux to Communications Daily, a trade publication.

Link:

CPUC Scoping Memo on T-Mobile-Sprint merger (CPUC, Oct. 9, 2018)