T-Mobile and Sprint, two of the three biggest US providers of mobile data and phone service, will be allowed to go through with a proposed $26 billion merger, a US district court judge ruled on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2020) T-Mobile and Sprint, two of the three biggest US providers of mobile data and phone service, will be allowed to go through with a proposed $26 billion merger, a US district court judge ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling by US District Judge Victor Marrero denied a request to block the merger from more than a dozen US states.
"The clerk of the court is directed to enter judgment in favor of the defendants," the 170-page ruling said.
T-Mobile and Sprint agreed to sell off assets including prepaid cellular services and to sell some of their combined wireless spectrum to the satellite television provider Dish, which plans to develop a new cellular network.
The combined network told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that they could cover 97 percent of the US population with a 5G network within three years. The deal must still be cleared by California regulators and faces the prospect that the ruling will be appealed, given vigorous opposition from states that sued to block the merger.
The states of California, New York, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, plus Washington, DC sued to block the merger, which had earlier won approval from the Justice Department and (FCC).
Opponents argued that the $26 billion merger would reduce competition leading to higher prices for consumers with just two giant service providers servicing the US instead of three.
