\tUS Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chief Ajit Pai threw his support behind a proposed merger between T-Mobile US and Sprint, citing commitments the pair made to expand rural coverage and address competitive concerns as decisive factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that this transaction is in the public interest and intend to recommend to my colleagues that the FCC approve it. This is a unique opportunity to speed up the deployment of 5G throughout the United States and bring much faster mobile broadband to rural Americans. We should seize this opportunity,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Pai added he intends to present the other members of the FCC with a draft order to that effect in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The announcement came as T-Mobile US and Sprint revealed plans to sell the latter\u2019s Boost Mobile prepaid unit after critics of the deal raised concerns about how it would impact competition in the segment.<\/p>\n
In a filing with the FCC, the pair also reiterated a series of three- and six-year commitments including plans to build a nationwide 5G network; expand rural coverage; compete in the home broadband market; honour current MVNO agreements (including a Sprint deal with Altice); and maintain current mobile pricing for consumers for three years.<\/p>\n
They also outlined a verification and enforcement process to ensure those promises are kept and agreed to pay penalties of up to $2.4 billion per year for missed deadlines.<\/p>\n
Pai said the latter will \u201ccreate a powerful incentive for the companies to meet their commitments on time\u201d.<\/p>\n
The deal is also awaiting approval from the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chief Ajit Pai threw his support behind a proposed merger …<\/p>\n
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