Department of Justice Approves $26B Merger of T-Mobile and Sprint

[MacRumors]

Following more than a year of regulatory scrutiny, the U.S. Department of Justice today announced that it has approved the $26 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, although with several conditions attached.

T-Mobile and Sprint will join together as "New T-Mobile" to become a dominant third carrier in the United States alongside Verizon and AT&T. Together, the companies have committed to building out a nationwide 5G network covering 97 percent of the U.S. population within three years and 99 percent within six years.

T-Mobile and Sprint earlier promised that they will not raise prices for three years following the completion of the merger.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, T-Mobile and Sprint must divest a substantial package of assets to Dish Network, including Sprint's prepaid subsidiaries Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile and some 800MHz spectrum. Dish will also gain access to at least 20,000 cell sites and hundreds of retail locations.

The deal paves the way for Dish to become the fourth nationwide facilities-based wireless carrier in the United States, ensuring a competitive landscape. Dish has announced that it plans to deploy a 5G broadband network capable of serving 70 percent of the U.S. population by June 2023.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai:

I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with T-Mobile and Sprint. The commitments made to the FCC by T-Mobile and Sprint to deploy a 5G network that would cover 99% of the American people, along with the measures outlined in the Department's consent decree, will advance U.S. leadership in 5G and protect competition.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere:

The T-Mobile and Sprint merger we announced last April will create a bigger and bolder competitor than ever before -- one that will deliver the most transformative 5G network in the country, lower prices, better quality, unmatched value and thousands of jobs, while unlocking an unprecedented $43B net present value in synergies. We are pleased that our previously announced target synergies, profitability and long-term cash generation have not changed.

The merger remains subject to remaining regulatory approvals and certain other customary closing conditions. Additionally, a number of states filed an antitrust lawsuit in U.S. federal court in June to block the proposed transaction; that lawsuit remains on the docket and must be resolved before the merger can go forward.

Regardless, T-Mobile and Sprint expect to receive final federal regulatory approval in the third quarter of 2019 and anticipate that the merger will be permitted to close by the end of the year.

Article Link: Department of Justice Approves $26B Merger of T-Mobile and Sprint

 

[Swift]

Is it going to be the same company, with the Unlimited plans, and the friendly deals? Or will you become a Verizon?

 

[alphaod]

Expect higher prices for everyone, regardless of what they claimed to make this deal happen.

 

[Breaking Good]

This seems like a win-win for everyone. There will be a new, budget carrier and T-Mo and Sprint will be able to create enough critical mass to rollout 5G. So we will still have four cellular carriers in the U.S. and three nationwide 5G networks.

 

[twocents]

Yes! This will help bring some real competition against Verizon and AT&T as the merged T-Mobile will be better equipped for 5G deployment and infrastructure. Besides, if you haven’t noticed prices have been climbing across the board anyways

 

[redneckitengineer]

3 yrs from now....price goes at least 25% higher, You heard it now.

 

[eric89074]

As long as Legere stays in charge I'm ok. If he leaves any time soon look out below...

 

[jerryk]

3 yrs from now....price goes at least 25% higher, You heard it now.

40+% higher is my guess.

 

[btrach144]

Expect higher prices for everyone, regardless of what they claimed to make this deal happen.

Part of the deal is that they won’t raise prices, I believe for 3 years. They’ll be fined if they do.

 

[Aston441]

Yes! This will help bring some real competition against Verizon and AT&T as the merged T-Mobile will be better equipped for 5G deployment and infrastructure. Besides, if you haven’t noticed prices have been climbing across the board anyways

Sorry you missed that class in Econ 101. lol
[doublepost=1564160882][/doublepost]

3 yrs from now....price goes at least 25% higher, You heard it now.

I laugh at your optimism.
[doublepost=1564161096][/doublepost]Oligopoly is not permitted in Europe, the way it is here. That's why last time I was there I stuck a SIM card in my iPhone, that I bought at the drugstore, that gave me unlimited 4G data and unlimeted calling for EIGHT UNITED STATES DOLLARS.

Anyone who thinks this merger is good for anyone except a few super wealthy people is beyond salvageable.

 

[bladerunner2000]

As long as Legere stays in charge I'm ok. If he leaves any time soon look out below...

John Legere is a national treasure:

 

[DrJohnnyN]

It's happening!!!

 

[tgwaste]

Yes! This will help bring some real competition against Verizon and AT&T as the merged T-Mobile will be better equipped for 5G deployment and infrastructure. Besides, if you haven’t noticed prices have been climbing across the board anyways

Everything about this is wrong. The way it is now is REAL competition, which is why T-Mobile has been gaining market share every single year.

I have not noticed prices climbing. Ive noticed them getting lower and more importantly Ive noticed more bang for the buck across the board.

In 3 years, T-Mobile will become Verizon. Thats when everyone will switch back to Verizon because if I'm going to pay Verizon prices, I'm just going to use Verizon.

 

[Zaft]

If att were allowed to purchase T-Mobile then there would have been no un carrier moves that changed the wireless industry.

but in this case I think the merger makes sense just based of that t Mobile is not nearly as big as att was.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Expect higher prices for everyone, regardless of what they claimed to make this deal happen.

Why would prices go higher?

 

[happygodavid]

I was with ATT for over 20 years. It was generally decent coverage, and after smartphones came out, in metro areas, speed was usually great. My work offered to foot my phone bill, but I had to switch to Sprint. I dropped calls more often, couldn’t use the internet while on the phone, coverage was abysmal outside of DC, and speed was slooooow. I just switched to Verizon for the past several months, and it’s night and day better than Sprint. Maybe not quite as good as ATT on speed, but coverage is good; time will tell on my overall impression. At least it’s not Sprint. Never had T-Mobile.

Here’s hoping this merger makes Sprint/T-Mobile a decent service for folks who have it. Perhaps it will, or it may continue to suck. Either way, I just wish SOMEONE (including ATT/Verizon) would actually invest in COVERAGE OVER SPEED. LTE phones are fast enough when coverage is good. What I want more than anything is LTE speed (ok sure, 5g would be great), even if I’m driving through the mountains. Whatever company gets there first will have my undying loyalty.

 

[DrJohnnyN]

Why would prices go higher?

Because business.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Prices will be based on competition, not the merger. And a merged company should see savings from combining resources and consolidating systems to keep prices down. If TMO was buying Sprint for $20B, I’d be more worried. If this is a traditional merger, then there is no purchase price, the $26B is the value of the combined company.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Is it going to be the same company, with the Unlimited plans, and the friendly deals? Or will you become a Verizon?

I've been thinking about switching to T-Mobile for a while. They really haven't had a great deal in a good long time. Unlimited doesn't really do it for me, as my family consistently use less than 20GB/month. I regret missing out on their old fixed data plans, which were way better in my opinion. My 30GB ATT Family Share plan with rollover is more than enough and actually less expensive than getting the TMobile unlimited for the same number of people.

From my point of view, TMobile's plans have been pretty meh for a long time.

 

[dwsolberg]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The U.S. has such a huge land mass / low population density that there is something to having fewer carriers because having four separate networks is more costly than three. Additionally, Sprint could have easily been sold for parts in a couple years anyway because it's so poorly run.

On the other hand, less competition often (but not always) leads to higher consumer prices, worse customer service, and the rich getting richer (although what doesn't lead to that?)

I don't think anyone really knows whether this will be good or bad.

 

[IG88]

Everything about this is wrong. The way it is now is REAL competition, which is why T-Mobile has been gaining market share every single year.

I have not noticed prices climbing. Ive noticed them getting lower and more importantly Ive noticed more bang for the buck across the board.

In 3 years, T-Mobile will become Verizon. Thats when everyone will switch back to Verizon because if I'm going to pay Verizon prices, I'm just going to use Verizon.

I travel quite a bit for work, to relatively rural areas where T-Mobile / Sprint have little or no coverage. So my only realistic options have been ATT / Verizon.

If the new SprinT-Mo eventually has coverage that rivals VZW, I'll finally have a 3rd option that I've been hoping for.

 

[brinary001]

God finally. Maybe now I'll switch back to T-mobile given that they're essentially going to be two networks in one. I mean I wish it wasn't the ****tiest one that they merged with, but hey, any improvement is better than no improvement at all
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[nburwell]

I hope I'm wrong, but I smell my T-Mobile plan going up in price in the not-so distant future.

 

[dan110]

This can be really good or really bad. I hope the spirit and focus of T-Mobile remains the same. Sprint is terrible. I hope it dies a quick death.

 

[Steve J0bs]

Switched from Verizon to T-Mobile last year and i have zero regrets. Honestly, i get better coverage too. Not to mention that John is a fantastic CEO.