Posted on 12/09/2019 6:33:09 PM PST by Zhang Fei
NEW YORK (AP) — A high-drama telecom deal is heading to court.
T-Mobile, in its attempt to buy Sprint for $26.5 billion, has already notched approvals from key federal regulators. Now it must convince a federal judge that the 14 state attorneys general suing to stop the deal are wrong. A trial starts Monday in U.S. District Court in New York and is expected to last several weeks.
If T-Mobile prevails, the number of major U.S. wireless companies would shrink to three from four. A combined T-Mobile-Sprint would become a fiercer competitor to larger Verizon and AT&T . But the states argue that having one fewer mobile carrier would reduce competition and cost Americans billions of dollars in higher phone bills.
T-MOBILE CEO JOHN LEGERE TO LEAVE COMPANY IN 2020, BE SUCCEEDED BY COO
T-Mobile and Sprint provide cheaper alternatives to Verizon and AT&T, and T-Mobile has branded itself the “Un-carrier,” one that has made consumer-friendly changes such as bringing back unlimited-data plans and shattering two-year service contracts. There are concerns that less competition would put an end to these types of changes, although T-Mobile says that won't happen.
The deal got the nod from both the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, thanks to T-Mobile's unusual commitment to create a brand-new mobile carrier in a deal with satellite-TV company Dish.
T-Mobile agreed to sell millions of customers to Dish and to rent its network to the fledgling rival while it built its own. Absent that arrangement, the Justice Department said, the deal would have been bad for consumers. Dish would start providing cellphone service after buying Sprint's current prepaid-service business. Dish is also required to build a faster, next-generation network, known as 5G, over the next several years.
The states says the Dish fix isn't good enough.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
We don't have to go as far as the Chinese, who force telephone companies to become quasi-welfare state agencies that provide cheap telephone service using shareholder funds, via government edicts that force rates down below the cost of capital. But it would be nice if a semblance of vigorous competition remained in the telecom market.
I used to have phone service via Boost Mobile,a Sprint company.
I have sprint, been a customer about 12yrs.
T-Mobile agreed to sell millions of customers to Dish and to rent its network to the fledgling rival while it built its own. Absent that arrangement, the Justice Department said, the deal would have been bad for consumers. Dish would start providing cellphone service after buying Sprint's current prepaid-service business. Dish is also required to build a faster, next-generation network, known as 5G, over the next several years.
T-MOBILE CEO JOHN LEGERE TO LEAVE COMPANY IN 2020
The guy needs a haircut.
Let’s see... do we want to be slaves of the corporations or the state, or both?
I say none of the above.
Just Say No.
Time to start enforcing Anti-Trust Laws.
Just saw a youtube video with a guy who flips cars for a living. While cleaning out a new acquisition he found a sprint labeled windshield sunshade. He looked right at rhe camera and quipped “this is likely the most coverage you’ll ever get from sprint.” Damn near launched my Coke Zero onto the screen.
CC
It is true that 4 competitors are better than than 3, but Sprint is so week that it probably isn’t reasonable for investors to put new money into it in order to build a competitive 5G network.
Perhaps the real choices we have are either:
A) 3 relatively equal and viable competitors, or
B) 2 relatively equal and 1 smaller (and growing) viable competitors plus 1 failing competitor.
[Just saw a youtube video with a guy who flips cars for a living. While cleaning out a new acquisition he found a sprint labeled windshield sunshade. He looked right at rhe camera and quipped “this is likely the most coverage you’ll ever get from sprint.” Damn near launched my Coke Zero onto the screen.]
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