By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 8-2-19
Texas has joined a state effort to block the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, which the Department of Justice and a handful of other AGs’ have agreed not to block given conditions the companies have agreed to. Those include spinning off pre-paid wireless operator Boost Mobile to Sprint in hopes of seeding a fourth facilities-based carrier (the merger would reduce the top four carriers to the top three).
“After careful evaluation of the proposed merger and the settlement, we do not anticipate that the proposed new entrant will replace the competitive role of Sprint anytime soon…. The bargain struck by the U.S. Dept. of Justice is not in the best interest of working Texans,” said Texas AG Ken Paxton.
Meanwhile, a New York Southern District Court delayed the start of the trial in the attorneys’ general lawsuit challenging the T-Mobile-Sprint deal to Dec. 9 (from Oct. 7), essentially guaranteeing the deal will not close until 2020 unless the suit is settled before that. » Read More