By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 12-20-19
The Justice Department and FCC have told a New York federal district court that their respective approvals of the T-Mobile-Sprint deal, with attendant conditions to drive rural 5G deployment and competition, should add legal weight on the Judicial scale in favor of that merger.
That came in a statement of interest filed Friday (Dec. 20) with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. That court is currently hearing a challenge to the merger by D.C. and 12 states – New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
“Both the Antitrust Division and the FCC took nationwide actions on behalf of the American people in response to the merger at the heart of this private antitrust suit, based on their factual findings and determinations that their chosen relief was in the public interest. Now, plaintiffs in this case, a minority of States, ask this court to displace those findings and decisions by imposing a nationwide permanent injunction.” » Read More