(Photo Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
T-Mobile and Sprint team up for billion-dollar deal
T-Mobile and Sprint, two of the largest phone service providers, have merged as part of T-Mobile’s $26 billion takeovers of the latter, but the unification of the two has left consumers with questions as to what will happen next.
While several state attorneys argued that the merger would minimize competition and result in higher prices for consumers, a U.S. District judge went ahead and ruled in favor of the deal. The deal will finalize its closing when the California Public Utilities Commission approves the transaction, but the ruling comes to a head after a yearlong partnership between T-Mobile and Sprint and several attempts in the past to merge.
While attorneys general from multiple states like New York, California, Hawaii, Maryland and more filed the lawsuit to block the deal, the phone carrier companies argued that the merger would allow for them to compete against ATT&T and Verizon as well as advance their networks to build a 5G network nationwide.
The two phone service providers confirmed Tuesday that they will be committed to delivering high-speed 5G internet to 97 percent of the country over the next three years once this deal closes.
Without the merger, Sprint would be unable to continue operating as a wireless service competitor. Once the deal is closed, T-Mobile will take over Sprint’s billing, but prepaid customers and Sprint-owned Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile will be sold to the satellite company Dish.
The merger may also affect the availability of unlimited plans. Either the plans “could go away or get worse,” said Matt Wood, general counsel at Free Press.
By: Maytinee Kramer
