United States Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said this week that he would recommend approval of the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint (via Bloomberg). The news comes after T-Mobile and Sprint announced changes to their $26.5 billion merger agreement, including the sale of the prepaid brand Boost Mobile, a three-year buildout of their 5G network, and a pledge not to raise prices while the network is being built.

sprinttmobile
Under the new plan, the companies will sell off Sprint's Boost Mobile brand, but keep Virgin Mobile and T-Mobile's Metro brand. If Sprint and T-Mobile had kept all three, they would have owned the largest chunk of the prepaid cellular market in the United States, totaling about 42 percent of the market.

“Two of the FCC’s top priorities are closing the digital divide in rural America and advancing United States leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity,” Pai said in a statement Monday. “The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives.”

If completed, the new combined company would ditch the Sprint name and be called T-Mobile, and current T-Mobile CEO John Legere would serve as the Chief Executive Officer. Sprint and T-Mobile have said the new company will be a "force for positive change" in the U.S. wireless, video, and broadband industries, supercharging T-Mobile's Un-carrier strategy and allowing it to "lead in the 5G era."

Although Pai's approval is a big step, the merger still needs to be approved by the full FCC board and the Department of Justice. In April, Sprint and T-Mobile announced a deadline extension for the merger to July 29, 2019.

Top Rated Comments

DonutHands Avatar
72 months ago
That's not increasing competition though. There are now going to be less cellular providers.
It's almost comical to call Sprint a competing cellular provider. This merger gives T-Mobile/Sprint a fighting chance in the marketplace.

I don't know what will happen moving forward, but T-Mobile and Sprint have in recent memory been making changes for the good of the consumer with Verizon and AT&T only making changes to somewhat match what T-Mobile has done.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
72 months ago
Sounds good to me. We're moving from having two top tier companies (AT&T vs Verizon) with two secondary companies (Sprint vs T-Mobile) to having three top tier companies (AT&T vs Verizon vs T-Mobile). The whole mess of cheaper options are still there, and the increased competition at the top should help to cause AT&T and Verizon to offer cheaper and better plans.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RobNYC Avatar
72 months ago
Sounds good to me. We're moving from having two top tier companies (AT&T vs Verizon) with two secondary companies (Sprint vs T-Mobile) to having three top tier companies (AT&T vs Verizon vs T-Mobile). The whole mess of cheaper options are still there, and the increased competition at the top should help to cause AT&T and Verizon to offer cheaper and better plans.
That's not increasing competition though. There are now going to be less cellular providers.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Guda.FL Avatar
72 months ago
That's not increasing competition though. There are now going to be less cellular providers.
I had sprint on my work line. I would not put them in a “carrier” competitor category. Abysmal.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Breaking Good Avatar
72 months ago
For both company customers, be ready for price increase. For the both company employees, be prepared for restructuring effect. Any duplication functions and divisions will be streamlined, which generally would lead lay off unfortunately. I wish the best for both companies customers and employees.
As part of the agreement they've agreed not to raise prices for three years. After that it is anyone's guess.

I just hope they don't seel Boost off to American Movil. That would not help the discount wireless industry.

The issue with the employees is bad. But it is better for them to do it now the unemployment rate is so low rather than to have to do it in the next economic downturn.
[doublepost=1558365914][/doublepost]
It's almost comical to call Sprint a competing cellular provider. This merger gives T-Mobile/Sprint a fighting chance in the marketplace.
I'm very happy with my Sprint service. But I agree 100% with what you said above. Sprint just doesn't have the subscriber base necessary to build out a nationwide network by itself.

I live in a heavily populated area. (I think I hav five Apple Retail Stores within 45 minutes of me.) So I have great Sprint coverage. But I realize that many others are not in a similar situation. There are others who may only have one option because of where they live.

I am not going to say that this will end well for everyone. There is no way I can do that. But having three carriers that can compete head-to-head on a 5G buildout beats having just two.

Now, I would like to see the FCC mandate certain coverage requirements for 5G buildout. I would like to see something like you have to guarantee that you can cover, 95% of the U.S. population with either 5G or 4G cellular service and set minumum download and upload speeds for each.

The airwaves are owned by the people of the United States and they should be managed for the greatest benefit of the people of the United States, not just for a few or three mega-corporations. And no, I don't hold out hope that the current FCC Chairman has that in mind.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HailstormX Avatar
72 months ago
Of course he would...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...