[ad_1]
By David Shepardson and Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. have secured support from the president of the US telecommunications regulator, but will require a series of changes to their proposed $ 26 billion merger, including the sale of the Sprint Mobile Boost Mobile Service.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai, said Monday that he would recommend to the other four commissioners to vote in favor of the merger. Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, also announced that he will vote in favor of the agreement.
Once an order is drafted, the entire group must vote to approve or reject the transaction.
Sprint jumped 25.1% to $ 7.73 while T-Mobile was up 6% to $ 79.93.
The FCC will not officially vote on the merger Monday, but will prepare an order first, said two people informed about it. The Department of Justice must also approve the agreement.
In a document filed Monday with the FCC, companies have committed to sell Boost Mobile, a prepaid mobile phone provider.
Altice USA, the fourth largest cable company, has urged the FCC to reject the deal, fearing that the merged company will prevent it from offering telephone service.
Altice has entered into a mobile virtual network operator agreement with Sprint to begin offering mobile service later this year. The companies have undertaken not to terminate their contract with Altice.
T-Mobile also promised that the new company would create a network "5G leading the global market", the next generation of wireless services, to provide robust 5G broadband and enhance the domestic broadband.
T-Mobile had announced that the companies had postponed the expiry of the contract until July 29th. These two companies are part of only four national wireless carriers, with Verizon Communications and AT & T Inc. leading the pack.
The FCC and the Justice Department had to make a decision in early June. They weighed a potential loss of competition, and hence higher prices for consumers, compared to the prospect of a more powerful mobile operator # 3, able to build a faster 5G network and more performance.
(Report by David Shepardson and Diane Bartz, edited by Susan Heavey, Paul Simao and Jeffrey Benkoe)
[ad_2]
Source link