DOJ won't approve T-Mobile-Sprint merger as structured, WSJ reports as anti-merger coalition of 24 organizations files “closing argument” letter

The prospect of the $26 billion T-Mobile-Sprint merger is in doubt. The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust staff told T-Mobile and Sprint that the merger is unlikely to be approved as currently structured.

In addition to the DOJ, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the California Public Utilities Commission, and more than a dozen state Attorneys General are conducting their own reviews of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger.

“The fundamentals surrounding the proposed T-Mobile-Sprint merger remain the same,” saidDebbie Goldman, CWA Research and Telecommunications Policy Director. “As currently structured, this merger would be anti-competitive and against the public interest, eliminating 30,000 jobs, lowering wireless workers’ wages, and failing to move the needle for rural America.”

In a “closing argument” letter, a coalition of 24 public interest organizations, labor unions, telecommunications companies and trade associations urged the DOJ and the FCC to reject the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

“The parties have proffered vague, loophole-filled, and unenforceable promises in an attempt to counter the overwhelming evidence of the harms to competition and consumers,” said 4competition Coalition. “These promises would not protect against the clear harms to consumers and competition that would result from this dramatic change in market structure.”

Links:

T-Mobile-Sprint Deal Runs Into Resistance From DOJ Antitrust Staff (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 16, 2019)

CWA meeting with FCC: T-Mobile-Sprint merger remains anti-competitive and harmful to workers (Speed Matters, Apr. 22, 2019)

4Competition Coalition Letter (4Competition Coalition, Apr. 18, 2019)