In May, after T-Mobile had agreed to a set of conditions (including a three-year price freeze and a promise to cover 97% of the country with low-band 5G signals within three years), the FCC chairman Ait Pai said he would recommend his fellow commissioners to sign the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has already approved the deal after creating Dish Network to replace Sprint as "the fourth national competitor of the network with facilities." With the FCC voting soon to take place, many Democrats are asking the FCC to delay the count so that the public can comment on it. Since Pai is appointed by Trump and has shown loyalty to the President, we do not expect any delay.
It seems that those who complain about the transaction do not fully understand the implications of the transaction with Dish or do not believe that it will lead to a competing replacement of Sprint. Our position from the start is that a combined T-Mobile-Sprint would present more challenges to Verizon and AT & T than the status quo. The Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN), wrote a letter to the FCC (via The Verge) asking the agency to postpone the vote on the $ 26.5 billion merger until that the public has the opportunity to comment on it. Klobuchar supported the lawsuit brought by 15 state attorneys general and the Washington DC Attorney General who is seeking to block the deal. The trial is scheduled to begin on December 9 and the two wireless operators would have started very preliminary talks to reach a withdrawal. However, a person familiar with the talks said that both sides were "separated one from the other". Senator Klobuchar's letter is also signed by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Elizabeth Warren. (D-MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
T-Mobile wants Sprint's mid-range 2.5GHz spectrum to help develop its 5G network
"As we stated earlier, the antitrust concerns regarding the impact of the proposed merger on T-Mobile / Sprint on consumers, competition and the public interest," the senators wrote. "We remain concerned about the lack of transparency in the FCC merger review process and the lack of certainty as to whether this merger will protect competition and consumers … The risk to consumers If Dish Network does not compete effectively or build its new wireless business is considerable, evaluate and comment on this proposal as part of the FCC review process.
For these reasons, we urge the FCC to issue a notice and solicit its comments on the proposed amalgamation by the Consent Decree and the terms set out in Dish's extension application letter prior to its review of the merger so determine whether this transaction is in the public interest. The public should be able to trust that the FCC process is fair, transparent and based on a thorough review of all relevant evidence. "- Excerpt from Senator Klobuchar's letter
Some Democrats want the FCC to hear public comments on the T-Mobile-Sprint merger before the agency does the vote
T-Mobile would like to merge with Sprint to get the 2.5 GHz mid-range spectrum treasure from Sprint. By adding mid-range waves at its 600 MHz low frequencies and its millimeter wave spectrum, T-Mobile hopes to be the first wireless network operator in the United States to complete the construction of a national 5G network. 'next year. Just in case the merger would not be concluded, the operator would have asked the FCC to auction an average band frequency spectrum in the 3.7 GHz to 4.2 GHz range. Because it is the fastest growing US-based wireless service provider, T-Mobile will not suffer as much negative effects as Sprint or Dish Network if the deal fails to overcome the obstacles that were opposed to it.
